Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ To Remember ❯ Torture ( Chapter 10 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Cousin D 
Anime/Manga: Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Romance / Fantasy | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 08.27.2005 | Pages: 7 | Words: 11.6K | Visits: 297 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Romance / Fantasy | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 08.27.2005 | Pages: 7 | Words: 11.6K | Visits: 297 | Status: Completed
Chapter 10: Torture
Jomai-
“What do you mean, it wasn’t Ari you were trying to lure out? If not him, then who?”
Bion looked entirely too pleased with himself for Jomai’s peace of mind. He fairly preened under her steady gaze, if it was possible to preen while wrestling with a broken door. Little Liun was fussing in Jomai’s arms, waving her little arms around and Bion smiled at the child. “Father will be with you in a minute, daska. Little daska. As for Ari, he was the next step. I just wanted the boy to lure out the dhampire.”
“What makes you think Ryou would have anything to do with a dhampire?” Jomai found herself unaccountably angry. The dhampires had too many ties with vampires, for better or worse, and Jomai’s heritage roared at her that vampires were disgusting parasites, good for nothing but killing. She’d had a few run-ins with vampires in the past and none had left her with a good impression of their species. Dhampires couldn’t possibly be any better. “He’s a good boy. He wouldn’t associate with things like that!”
“Your species’ prejudice is glaringly obvious. Be careful or you’ll be mistaken for a fae.”
“That’s not funny.”
“It wasn’t meant to be. Quite seriously, you’re the strangest fae I’ve ever seen. You can think, you may as well do it. As for your Ryou, I could smell the dhampire on him a mile away. The boy knew him, when I’d described the dhampire. It would have been so easy to draw out the dhampire by using him. Now that Sedari…oh. Sorry. Now that our beloved Lady-Queen has taken him and is doing whatever she pleases with him,”
Jomai felt the blood rush from her head at that as all the awful things a fae could do to humans ran though her mind.
“Now that she has him,” Bion continued. “I suppose she’ll attract the dhampire’s attention as I’d wanted. Her only problem is that she isn’t expecting him to appear. She’s expecting Ari. Of course, the dhampire, when he finds Ryou in the hands of the Lady-Queen, will warn Ari and he won’t make his appearance.”
It did make sense and Jomai bit back a laugh. “She’s going to be terribly disappointed.” Somehow, Jomai didn’t feel too terribly bad for the Lady-Queen. “Regardless, we can’t leave Ryou in her hands.”
“What do you mean ‘we’?” Bion stopped fiddling with the door and went to take his daughter from Jomai. “I did my job. What happens to him now isn’t any of my concern.”
Instead of having his baby in his arms, Bion found himself faced with a handful of razor sharp fingernails and a furious fae. “It is your concern because if you don’t help me save him, I’ll skin your face off your skull. You’re the one who got him into this, you’ll get him out!”
“I was under orders from the Lady-Queen. What did you expect me to do? Disobey?” Bion wanted his daughter, but Jomai was a very intimidating female and her rage was towering, an inferno. “She’d have killed my mate and my daughter, not to mention me.”
“Your species cowards before Sedari like so many rabbits.” Jomai couldn’t help but spit the Lady-Queen’s name. “All the people of Tintagel do. I almost wish she’d find her Ari just to put and end to her madness, but if she could have him, I think she’d torture him more than she has anyone else.” Her face hardened and her grip on Luin tightened. “You’ll have your child, I guarantee that, but only after you help me.”
Bion threw his hands up in the air, helpless. “What do you expect of me? I’m only an imp. You think I can do anything to interfere with the Lady-Queen? I can’t even walk down the halls of her castle without looking suspicious.”
“I’m not asking you to get involved with any fighting or even any subterfuge. I want you to do what you’re best at.” She smiled sweetly. “I want you to FIND.”
“Find? Find what?” It was what he was best at. Of all his species, Bion was the best Finder. That was how he’d managed to track down Ryou, by finding the best way to lure out the dhampier and, therefore, Ari. It was his cursed curiosity that made Bion want to get involved.
“A way into the Castle of Light.” She grinned at him and stroked Luin’s head. “Can you do it?”
“I found a path to a man who should be dead, didn’t I? Trust me. I can find you a back door.”
Ryou-
The woman held a hand before her that reminded Ryou uncomfortably of a talon and she made a beckoning motion. "Make...it come to me." She command and it occurred to Ryou that she wasn't talking to him, but to the guards who still held him securely by the arms.
Each guard gave Ryou a slight tug on the arm and he walked forward. He thought that he had never seen such a beautiful face, or it would have been beautiful had it not been for the terrible sneer she wore. Lips that should have been delicate were twisted into a parody of a smile. Ryou didn't like it at all when she touched his face with one of her fingers, almost cautiously at first, as if she were afraid to.
"So...this is what my Ari likes?" Her hand was warm where she touch Ryou and he felt sure, very suddenly, that he could love her. She was beautiful and that scowl, it was just a slight frown, really. The woman's eyes were different, Ryou thought as he looked at her. The color was a little to vibrant a green and her eyes were simply to large. They were slanted upwards at a graceful angle, but they were to big. Not freakish, exactly, but far larger than any human eye should be. She was so beautiful...
'Stop it!' The voice in Ryou's head gave him a jolt. 'She's just using glamour on you, it's a kind of magic. Think about something else.'
‘Rekka? Where are you? I can’t feel you properly.’ It seemed further away than it ever had before even though the orb was resting securely in Ryou’s pocket. 'What do you want me to think about?' Ryou found that he really didn't want to think about anything other than the beautiful woman touching his face. She seemed fascinated just to touch him and rub her fingers over his skin.
'Anything. Get your mind off her.'
'But...'
'Now!'
The barked order made Ryou obey. He thought of his last algebra test and tried to remember all the questions. He hated math, really hated it. Touma was a patient teacher and had stayed up all night once to help Ryou study. He tried remembering all those equations and formulas that seemed so senseless and felt as if he were being drawn back into his own mind. The woman didn't look quite so beautiful as she had a moment ago and Ryou didn't like her touch.
Apparently, the woman noticed Ryou's lack of interest and it didn't please her. “Chain him to the wall.”
Ryou’s shoulders heaved and he took a deep, shuddering breath but he didn’t fight when the guards dragged him back to the wall and fastened his wrists to the wall above his head.
Lady-Queen Sedari-
When she went to the great depths of her castle Sedari found herself standing in front of the human boy, Ryou. He was mewling like a wounded animal when he was bound to the wall. Well, why shouldn’t he? The dungeon was dark and cold, certainly not a place to feel good. Even Sedari didn’t like the place much and it was hers.
He looked, to Sedari, typical for a human. Over muscled, like a horse, and crude just to look at. His browned skin and lank hair the color of ink. Nothing appealing about him at all. He didn’t even have the decency to keep his eyes lowered when she came into the room.
How he had managed to dismiss her glamour was a marvel and a miracle. Not even other fae could push her influence away so easily and humans had far weaker minds than fae. Yet, he had done it.
That dull face, those listless eyes, hid a secret. He did know Ari, but by a different name. Sedari reached out her hand to the boy and stroked the side of his face, making him moan softly and turn his head as far away from her as he could. He still hadn’t recovered from her little peek into his mind, apparently.
Gen Ma-Sho Rajura, the warlord of Illusion. Ari had changed not only his name, but his whole being. She’d seen him in Ryou’s mind wearing dark armor that was not Earthly made or even from any smith in Tintagel. The weapons he’d had and the fearsome helmet that looked like it was mounted with antlers, it was all so different from the gentle child she remembered. His eye was still missing and his long hair was still white as moonlight, but he soared into battle, an eagle. Ryou feared Rajura greatly along with another creature that was long since dead.
Now how had Ari come from the vast, cold lands of his childhood to being the minion of a demon? Then to help in overthrowing that demon and now…
One of Ryou’s memories flashed into Sedari’s mind.
The girl was very young with long black hair and red marks beside her eyes. Ari bowed to her. He bowed…to HER! It was enough to make Sedari’s heart thunder in her chest. Who was that whelp that she thought she could command darling Ari so easily?
Ryou cried out, but didn’t open his eyes. The sound was enough to remind Sedari of where she was. Her hand was still on Ryou’s face, but when she’d thought of that girl Ryou knew as Kayura her fingers hand clenched and she’d scratched four long, bloody gnashes in Ryou’s face. She stared at the blood and watched it drip down Ryou’s cheek until it ran onto his chin, then dripped down to fall on the boy’s foot.
“So,” Sedari spoke, even though she wasn’t sure the boy would hear her. “I know all your secrets, now. Ryou no Rekka. Your friends…your pain. I know it all, there’s no point in keeping you, now.” He was useless. “Still…Bion had a reason.” The imp was too clever to NOT have a reason for retrieving Ryou. “I can’t see the reason, though. You know my darling Ari, even though you did lie to me about that, but you hold no affection for him nor do you have contact with him. So why did Ari think you would be useful?”
Ryou looked up at here, then, finally prying his eyes open. There was pain and anger in his eyes, laced heavily with fear.
“Poor thing.” It really wasn’t his fault. He hadn’t chosen to do war against Ari. It was the fault of the armor that had chosen Ryou. “And,” Sedari continued her thoughts aloud, though she really didn’t care whether or not Ryou heard her. “If the armor chose you, and all your friends as you imagine, then it also chose my Ari. It’s the fault of the armor that he’s away from me. If I can get rid of the armor,” She started to smile, pleased with her idea. “Then my Ari will be free. He’ll be able to come back to me.”
Ryou’s eyes widened, the pain and anger both giving way to fear. No. It was greater than fear, it was terror.
“You look worried. Don’t be. It’s for your own good. If that armor hadn’t chosen you, then you never would have been involved with the war. You never would have hurt. Besides,” She laughed happily, more than pleased at her brilliant plan. “You’ve wished for this more than once. I’ve seen it in your mind. You’ve wished to have never heard of Yoroi or Rekka. I’m just going to make your dream come true.”
“No.” Ryou tried to pull his head away from her, but there wasn’t much room to move it and he ended up hitting his head on the stone wall behind him. “That’s not what I want!”
What a silly boy. “Of course it is. Don’t be afraid. It’s a favor to you. But, first…what’s that smell?” She raised her bloody fingers to her face and inhaled deeply. It wasn’t human, well, not entirely human. The blood was mostly human, but there was something else in there. Something very, very different. Something that Sedari had never smelled before.
No matter.
Sedari let her hand drop to her side and focused on what was important. Her promise to Ryou about helping him to rid himself of the armor that plagued his life was nearly forgotten. Ari. Ari preferred mortals. He’d spent time with this weak thing Sedari now had hung on her wall like fine art. He spent time with a dhampire. As Ari preferred mortals, then the answer to all Sedari’s problems was simple.
“I must be mortal.” Did she say that out loud? No matter. There was no one to hear but the human and even if he had overheard, what could he do? There was a process for what Sedari needed and, in order to do it, she needed a mortal life. One that hadn’t yet been born.
“Your majesty,” There were three males standing near the foot of the stairway that led up to the rest of the castle. They all blanched when Sedari frowned at them. “Please, your majesty. If this,” The spokesman pointed at Ryou. “Is what you wish to be, then we must study him so that we will know how to care for you. We know nothing about humans.”
“You know nothing about anything.” Sedari giggled at her own joke. “It’s a sensible thought. I’m surprised it came from your brain. Whatever you do, you mustn’t kill him. I’m going to help him once I’ve finished with him. Then I‘ll kill him. He keeps looking at me funny. It’s like he’s angry or something. Do what you have to do. If he dies, I‘ll hold you all responsible.” With that threat, she swept away and up the stairs, ready to begin the next phase of her plan.
To become mortal for Ari.
Ningen Sekai-
The Ningen Sekai was a filthy place, but it was the best place to get what she needed. It was more information she’d gotten from Ryou. Such a good boy to give it to her so easily. She needed a life, a mortal life, to usurp. A life untouched by any trauma to make her own. It was lucky chance that Ryou knew a new life still in development. It took Sedari time, though not much, to find the life Ryou had known about.
Eventually, she came to the right place. A massive building of metal and glass, shining in the evening light like a monolith, some monstrous shrine dedicated to a human god. She even paused a moment to stare at the place in awe. It rivaled even the Castle of Light in sheer size.
Not that Sedari would ever admit that anything a mere human could build could rival her own beloved castle. She’d worked hard enough for it. Killing her father had been the last in a long line of subtle plots that secured Sedari as ruler of Tintagel. She was more than happy to use the power she’d fought for. She liked to know that every stone of the castle belonged to her. She liked to know that everyone in the castle hung on her whim. She controlled everything and everyone loved her. How could they not? Was she not perfection? Of course she was. So why did that sad little human boy keep crying? Not that it mattered. Ryou could cry till his eyes floated out of his head, his comfort was not of any importance. All that mattered was Ari and why that lowly human smelled like Ari.
It was only a faint smell, but it was enough to tell Sedari that sometime, quite recently, the human boy had come into contact with Ari and he’d admit nothing. Well! Of all the arrogance! Not that she had to ask. Pulling the information from him was good enough. She knew Ari was alive, despite all the spiteful people who’d told her he must have died in the years since she’d seen him.
‘He wouldn’t. He wants to be with me. He’s alive because he wants to be with me. He’s cheated death for me and now I’ll sacrifice for him, just as he’s done for me.’ If anyone had bothered to look at her when she entered the sliding glass doors of the hospital’s waiting room, they’d have seen a mad glimmer in her eyes. A too bright shine that no sane person would have. The purposeful stride she set and the bustling waiting room ensured that no one saw her eyes or even really looked at her. ‘If Ari wanted a human, then a human he shall have.’
Sedari looked down at her white hands as she walked along the cold, sterile hall. The changes would have to be radical, but she would capture Ari’s attention again. He would adore her, just like all the others. He would touch her hands and whisper to her in the first light of day. It would be just as she’d always wished.
The place was filthy, crawling with humans. Pale green walls and white tiled floors, along with disinfectant, gave the place and unreal air, at least to Sedari. She disliked the place she’d appeared in, but there was really no choice. She knew that this was where humans came when they were to have their young.
She had to hold her breath as she walked through the halls, but held herself proudly and smiled when she noticed the vampire. He didn’t dare attack her. Of course he didn’t. She was Lady-Queen. She was Sedari. Who would dare such a doomed folly? Let them watch her as she passed, let them tremble - as they must have done - she had only one purpose.
‘Ari prefers mortals?’ Her mind kept revolving around that thought even as she searched the hospital halls for some sign of the woman she’d seen in Ryou’s mind.
That was the reason why the imp had brought the human boy back to Tintagel, wasn’t it? Surely, he had some connection with Ari. There could be no other explanation for his appearance. It seemed likely, to Sedari, that the boy was the one with whom Ari had been spending time. Ryou was not the feared dhampire, that much was clear. He was wholly human. The only evidence Sedari had about his connection with dear Ari was smell. Fae did not have as fine a sense of scent as many other creatures, but Sedari’s was fine enough to catch Ari’s fading scent on the boy.
Ryou.
His name was Ryou. Someone had mentioned that, though why Sedari remembered it was a mystery. It didn’t matter. She had the boy and Ari would come for him. Yes, that must have been the imp’s plan. Why should she care about his name? Why should she care anything about him?
‘But he’s had Ari’s attention when it should have been mine!’ The thought drifted across Sedari’s mind and brought with it, anger and confusion. ‘Why? He has me. Why would he spend his time with that mud-crawling human? I am more beautiful. My power is vast, far more than any human could hope for. Why should Ari chose that gnat over me?’
It was then that Sedari saw the woman. She was a mature human, but one of the ugliest Sedari had ever seen. Her hair was the color of tree bark and too wild to be contained in the plait the woman had wrestled it into. Her skin was dark. Not quite as dark as many creatures Sedari had seen, but too dark for a fae and the fae were, as everyone knew, the pinnacle of beauty. She was small, too. Short and narrow with no curves at all. Her bony wrists stuck out from the end of her sleeves and her ankles, bare for the sandals she wore,. She might have been the ankles of a skeleton they protruded so viciously. Even her clothes were ugly, though that seemed to be normal for humans. Coarse, harsh fabrics in unflattering styles.
She, this ugly woman, was also pregnant. She was the one in Ryou’s memory.
‘What luck! What spending luck!’ Sedari cheered, silently.
“Can I help you?” The woman was suddenly speaking to Sedari. How odd. Still, Sedari wasn’t too put off that the woman had managed to catch her unawares.
“Yes. I’ve been looking for you.” She exerted a little control and the woman sagged to the floor. When she struck her head on the floor with a resounding ‘thwack’, Sedari was comforted and knew the woman wouldn’t wake up any time soon.
The halls were quiet but for the muffled sound of babies wailing, but the sound wasn’t enough to draw Sedari’s attention away from her new pet. No. Maybe pet was the wrong word. After all, she didn’t intend to keep this one. She just wanted what was inside.
Triumphantly, she turned, ready to leave the awful place. Only when she’d turned around did she see the man. He was as plain as Ari was beautiful. So plain that he was ugly and he stared at her from behind black glasses that protected him from her glamour. “Problem?” The man looked at the woman on the floor and then back up at Sedari. “Hardly the place for cat-fights.”
He was talking to her? So brazenly, without any decent manners? Did this stinking human not know to bow before his betters? His hands tucked unceremoniously into his pockets and staring at her as if she were some common woman - it was unforgivable!
“Begone.” She said, contemptuously even as she picked up her prize and slung her over a shoulder. “My business here is done.”
“Yeah, maybe.” He gestured at the sleeping woman. “That’s a nice lady you’ve hurt.”
“If I wished for you’re opinion I’d have asked. Out of my way.”
“Sure. Just give me the lady.” He shrugged nonchalantly and drew a hand out of his pocket to push his dark glasses further up on his nose. “Wouldn’t papa be surprised? Me…playing knight in shining armor.”
A knight? Sedari remembered knights from her childhood. Unscrupulous dogs to man. ‘If this one wants to be one,’ She thought with vile pleasure. ‘Then I’ll treat him like one. Father always said knights were best when starved to death. It teaches them humility.’ She stepped closer and smiled as sweetly as she could. “Then, o knight, pray tell me your name.”
“Michael. Now give me…” Michael hadn’t been prepared for fae strength.
Sedari’s blow on the side of his head lay the man out, making him crumple to the floor, senseless. Even more pleased than before, Sedari touched the man with the toe of her foot and brought them all to Tintagel with a thought. The guards waiting for her were shocked to see the two humans, but Sedari briskly got to business and handed the woman over to two of her soldiers. “Be gentle with her and come with me.” She warned. The soldiers who picked up the body of the man weren’t nearly so careful. “That one,” She instructed. “Take him somewhere and lock him up.” What happened to him after that, Sedari really didn’t care.
Tintagel-
Ryou-
Ryou was scared of the woman and he was glad she‘d left. He didn’t admit it often to anyone, but a great many things scared Ryou. He’d spent a good part of his life running away or hiding just to survive. It had given him good reflexes about who and what was dangerous. He knew the look of a person that was not to be trusted and he should run away. He knew when an animal was dangerous and he should avoid them. He knew when storms turned bad he had to find shelter. That woman, though…she was like all of them wrapped up in one. A storm, an animal, and a devious human all boiling together under the deceptive skin of a…what was she?
Whatever these people were, the woman scared Ryou the most. There was just something terribly wrong with her. The way she smiled too brightly and her eyes were too shiny. The three studying him at the moment didn’t reassure Ryou any, either.
They weren’t human, but what they were he couldn’t say. Their skin was the wrong shade and they…they were looking at Ryou like he was an insect under a microscope. The men - Ryou was pretty sure they were men - surrounded him and Ryou found himself wishing the wall would swallow him up or that he could at least contact the others.
He felt so isolated. When he shifted, trying to get away from one man’s prodding finger, his hip ground against the stone wall and Ryou felt a familiar little lump in his pocket. The orb. At least he still had it. It was a comfort to know it was still in his pocket, though he couldn’t feel Rekka burning in the deepest pit of his mind like it usually did.
A sharp pain made Ryou hiss and he kicked at the man who’s poked him in the head.
“The injury,” The man told one of his companions. “Isn’t terribly sever, not so dangerous as it appears. The imp did his job well.”
“Yes, but will it heal? The Lady-Queen wants this creature alive.”
“We’ll do our best.”
“Our best may not be enough. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never studied one of these things before. We might not be able to put it together again after we’ve finished. They aren’t like us, you know. Fragile.”
There was another poke to Ryou’s head, sending a flash of pain through his body and he thrashed. His legs, thankfully, had been left free and Ryou kicked, again. This time, he almost made contact. It was close enough that he send the men scattering. “Keep your hands off me.” He grumbled. There was little to no hope of being freed, Ryou was cynical enough not to bother asking. At least his feet were free, Ryou knew he was lucky enough to have that much. “Don’t touch me.” If only his head would stop throbbing, Ryou was sure he’d be able think of a way out.
The three men looked at each other, uncertainly. Hadn’t they expected him to speak?
“Amazing.” One of the men turned to the other two, completely ignoring Ryou. “I had no idea that human language was so similar to our own. Understandable, yet remarkably more coarse. Look and see how he twitches. It’s obviously a panic response related to being bound. Animals are notoriously sensitive about that sort of thing.” Then he turned and gave Ryou and exaggerated, false smile. “Don’t…worry.” He said, slowly and loudly as if he were talking to an idiot. “We’ll take…good care…of you.”
Good care? “Then let me go.”
All three of them laughed at that and moved away from him without answering. They messed about for a few minutes out of Ryou’s line of sight. He tried to look to where they were, but couldn’t quite see them. He didn’t want to know what they were doing because he knew it had something to do with him and what they were going to do with him. He pulled at the chains holding his wrists to the walls, but couldn’t budge them. Unlike all the movies, there wasn’t a chain to give Ryou at least a little room to move. The wide metal manacles clamped around his wrists were fastened directly to the wall and every move he made had the metal digging painfully into Ryou’s wrists.
There was movement, half-hidden in the shadows of the torchlight. A pain filled moan and a whimper made Ryou strain to see what was in the shadows. The woman who’d caused so much pain before, who’d stolen all his secrets with just a touch, was back but it wasn’t her who was moaning and that worried Ryou. Who else did they have in this dungeon? The others could have been captured, too. If he’d been taken, there was nothing to say that this woman hadn’t taken Seiji, Xiu, Shin, or Touma. Any one of them would have been easy targets after the accident.
The accident. ‘I wasn’t dreaming. This is NOT the Youja Kai. I don’t know where it is, but it’s not the Youja Kai. The war is over.’ Just thinking that made Ryou feel a bit braver. ‘But the others…what if they’re dead? No. Touma and Shin weren’t even in the car wreck.’
“I’m back.” Sedari sang out as if it would cheer Ryou. She honestly looked disappointed by the grim expression Ryou wore. “Didn’t you miss me? No matter. I’ve brought more guests.” Sedari looked over her shoulder and smiled, pleased.
Even to Ryou, the smile was beautiful. It was awful. She was like a the sun. Amazingly beautiful, yet fatal if one were to get too close. “Lights,” She waved a hand easily in the air. “Enhance.” Instantly there was more light in the room, as candles appeared and the torches on the walls grew brighter. What the light revealed made Ryou’s heart sink and his fury rear up.
Shin’s mum.
She was unconscious, but stirring as she was held carelessly between two tall guards who looked strangely similar. Her limp hair was falling loose from her braid and she looked even more drawn than usual. On the side of her face was a large, darkening bruise.
“Let her go.” Ryou snarled, straining at the chains that held him so tightly to the wall. He knew it would do no good, but how could he let her be manhandled so callously? Especially considering her condition! “She hasn’t got anything to do with anything!”
Sedari looked at Ryou as if surprised that he’d spoken. It was like she’d only just realized he was there. “She has as much to do with anything as you do. Well, maybe not her, precisely.” She walked away from Ryou, which pleased him, and to Shin’s mum, which didn’t please him. “But the life she carries will be a treasure to keep.” She bent down low enough to put her hand on Shin’s mum’s slightly bulging stomach. It made Ryou feel sick to see her touching the gentle woman. “Such a strong life. Did you know that mortal lives are stronger before they are born? I always wondered why.”
“Get away from her.” Again, Ryou futilely pulled at the chains, but the only thing that accomplished was making them rattle. “I’ll kill you, get away from her!”
When his captor looked up at Ryou, her eyes glimmered with something wicked. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. You see, she’s very useful. With her, I will make Ari love me as he should. I believe that it’s a mortal he wishes for, but he has been keeping company with the dhampire, if the rumors are true. Well…mortal or dhampire, I’ll give him exactly what he desires.” She laughed and it was that laugh, more than anything else, that made Ryou afraid. “Put her somewhere comfortable and see that she’s fed when she wakes.” Sedari stood up straight and addressed the guards who held Shin’s mum then turned to one of the three scientists who’d come to study Ryou. “You,“ She jabbed a finger at him imperiously. “Will make sure to her safety and health. She’s not to stay down here. Take her somewhere more comfortable. One of the guest rooms. We mustn’t have her getting upset. Have fresh clothes set out for her and a warm bath. But,” She gave the guards a significant look. “You two stay outside her door. We wouldn’t want her disturbed.”
“Yes, my Lady-Queen.” They answered in unison.
Helplessly, Ryou watched as Sedari swept out of the dungeon followed by the guards dragging Shin’s mum and one of the terrible scientists. There was nothing he could do without his power. In this place, wherever he was, it seemed that Rekka had abandoned him. All it could do was talk to him and even then it seemed tired.
Ryou had never known such utter despair.
If he could get just one hand free, Ryou was sure…no. Even that was no good. ‘I don’t even know where I am. I can’t feel anyone.’ But Ryou stopped himself at that thought. His friends weren’t dead. He had to hold onto that thought. It didn’t seem right, anyway. ‘But I can’t leave without Mouri-san.’
One of the strange looking men came back to Ryou and took Ryou’s face in his hands. Ryou lashed a kick out at him, but the man was being careful to stay just out of the way. “Where am I?” Ryou said though gritted teeth. At that point, he thought that any information would be welcome. “How’d I get here?” He knew for a fact that Touma had been with him right before all this had happened. He’d spoken to Touma. The others were close by, too. He’d sensed Shin’s fear and Xiu’s pain while Seiji drifted in unconsciousness. These people who searched for Ari might very well have hurt the others.
“He’s almost like a real person, isn’t he?” The man said to his companions over his shoulder. “Really, they way they speak just astounds me.”
They were doctors or scientists of some kind, Ryou was pretty sure. They’d talked about studying him, though Ryou wasn’t entirely sure why. Something about the woman wanting to become mortal or dhampire. Dhampire? Now why did that sound familiar? Whatever it meant, Ryou was the lab rat for their experiments and there didn‘t seem to be anything he could do to change that. ‘We all know what happens to lab rats, don’t we?’ Ryou remembered all the movies he’d ever watched with the others about scientific experiments on animals. ‘They’ll kill me in the end. They don’t need me for anything, so they’ll kill me once they’ve found out what they want to find out.’ He had it in mind to fight and scream, at least show some defiance. Even if it wasn’t practical or dignified. He wouldn’t just lay back and let himself die.
Ryou had survived so much. His granma’s death. His father’s madness. Bishop Brannon’s attentions. His mother’s death. To give up at this point, when the war had been won and everything was starting to settle down, seemed like the greatest of foolishness. A real waste.
‘Yoko would pinch my arm if she thought I’d roll over and die. Joji would smack me on the head.’ But, of course, neither Yoko nor Joji were alive anymore. Yoko was murdered and Joji had died defending her. Seemed like a lot of people died around Ryou.
“Right, are we ready?” The man holding Ryou’s face turned it this way and that, trying to see every inch of Ryou’s face and even bringing himself close enough to look right into Ryou’s eyes. “Blue.” He said, somewhat astonished. “What a bright color to be wasted on a human. Still, no time to be lost.” He waved a hand in front of Ryou’s face and then everything changed.
It was a sort of lethargy that swept over Ryou. He hadn’t the strength to keep his eyes open, let alone fight for himself and found himself with his head bowed and eyes closed. He hung loosely on his bonds, the metal biting at his flesh, making Ryou think the metal would cut his hands off. What would he do if that happened? If these scientists decided to cut off his hands? He wouldn’t be able to fight. He wouldn’t even be able to hold the Ryoken and that thought, more than any other, terrified Ryou.
His mouth hung open, he could feel that. He could feel the air drying his tongue and gums. His armpits hurt from the way he was hanging, but Ryou couldn’t gather up the strength to straighten his legs and stand. Instead, he just hung there and let his arms hurt. Which, in turn, made his back and shoulders protest.
The hands were still all over his face. It was a cold, clinical touch and Ryou was quite grateful for that, at least. If it had been anything more…intimate, Ryou knew he wouldn’t have been able to handle it. To be helpless at the mercy of a stranger was bad enough , but to know that he couldn’t even scream made it a true nightmare.
The moved him, taking off the manacles and holding him up by the arms. “Put him on the table just there. Easy, now. We don’t want any damage done, yet.”
If Ryou could have distanced himself from the emotions that overwhelmed him, he’d have thought that it was an odd experience. He could feel everything. He could hear everything. The toes of his shoes being scraped along the stone floor when he was half-carried away from the wall to the sounds of the heartbeat of the man on his left who was holding him so close that Ryou’s head lolled against his chest.
“Ek!” The man on the left suddenly released Ryou and he fell to the floor in a helpless lump. “It touched me!”
“Look,” The other one said. “This is a dirty job, but it’s an honor. The Lady-Queen is depending on us. What if something goes wrong with the transfer? We need to be able to help her. If you’re squeamish about this sort of thing, a little touch from a human, then you shouldn’t have volunteered for this. Before this is over,” He laughed lightly. “You’ll be getting a lot more on you than just his skin. Blood and body fluids. Tears, maybe.” He said it with a kind of sadistic glee one only got from mocking one’s coworkers. He didn’t seem to be trying to frighten Ryou, didn’t even seem aware that Ryou was even awake. “If we have to, you might even find yourself elbow deep in flesh.” He laughed again. “Look at you shake! Didn’t know what you were in for, did you?”
“Stop it!”
“Oh, don’t worry. You have to learn sometime. Go on, pick him up, again. No good to just leave him like that. You’re pale as a ghost! Come on, you know as well as I do that he can’t feel a thing when he’s like this. What do you think I am? Cruel?”
He wasn’t joking, Ryou realized with a panicked sort of inner-laugh. He really didn’t think Ryou was aware of what was going on. ‘And I can’t tell them I’m still awake.’
Picked up, though gingerly, Ryou was again carried across the floor and then pulled up onto a raised platform. It was the table they’d just been talking about. Ryou felt his heart speed up and his stomach churned uneasily. ‘Lab rats get dissected.’ He thought. ‘Eyes put out, limbs cut off, poisoned…all in the name of science.’ And that was what they were about to do to him. ‘Elbow deep in flesh, he said.’
“Why is he still dressed?” One of the men asked. Ryou was starting to loose track of who was who. They all sounded very much alike when he couldn‘t see them. “Get them off. Can’t do a thing when he’s like that.” While they stripped him of his clothes, Ryou was thankful that his body seemed to have been shut off. At least that way, he knew there wouldn’t be any embarrassing reactions.
Ryou’s eye lids were pulled open and he stared into the faces of the men bending over him. Ryou’s chest tightened at the feeling of claustrophobia.
I’M WITH YOU.
Ryou started at the half-familiar voice that spoke to him again. It was the same voice that had spoken to him before and it still sounded angry. He was glad for it. With that voice, he didn’t feel quite so isolated, even if he didn’t know who the voiced belonged to. WHO ARE YOU?
YOU KNOW ME. The voice sounded evasive. ARE YOU ALRIGHT? YOU’RE FRIGHTENED.
Ryou wanted to deny it. One didn’t just tell strangers that one was weak, after all. But, if this person was already inside his head, then it didn’t make any difference. It wasn’t Rekka. It wasn’t any of his friends. Ryou thought that, maybe, he was talking to himself. Maybe he’d taken a bigger bump to the head than he’d thought. One look at the men hovering over him and Ryou thought that was the most likely course. Surely, things like that couldn’t really exist.
PLEASE , DON’T BE AFRAID. The voice paused and sounded pained. TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE. I’LL HELP YOU.
HOW?
I CAN DO MANY THINGS. I CAN HELP YOU. WHERE ARE YOU?
I DON’T KNOW. Ryou tried to at least look around, but even his eyes wouldn’t do what they were supposed to do. I CAN’T MOVE. THEY DID SOMETHING TO ME.
THEY WHO?
FUNNY LOOKING PEOPLE. BIG EYES. WHITE SKIN. TALL.
FAIR HAIR?
YES.
The voice didn’t answer for a minute and Ryou had the very definite feeling that the person whom belonged to the voice was angry. FAE. It came out like a snarl. I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN. BACKSTABBING, DISHONEST CRETINS! The ferocity of his hate ran around inside Ryou’s head, a squirrel running madly around his brain, the hate was unbelievably intense. FAE!
One of the men turned away from Ryou and walked away while the other two kept staring at him. When he returned, he handed some instrument to one of the other men. It was he, Ryou was sure, who’d done most of the talking and who’d teased one of the younger ones. He must have been the leader. “Where do you want to start?” The instrument he handed his leader was deceptively pretty. It was bladed along one edge and serrated on the other. Light from the torches and lanterns reflected off the thing and made it glitter like a macabre Christmas ornament. “IF we’re not allowed to kill it, then we can’t do too much invasive investigation.”
“Don’t be too sure. We can find out enough. It’s not as if we’re starting out blind. There’ve been studies done on humans before. We know the basic skeletal construction. I’m more interested in the muscular structure and nervous system, at this time.” He held the instrument with both hands as he looked at his companions. “The immune system might be a valuable thing to study, as well.”
“The what?”
“Immune system. Keeps humans from getting sick.”
The other man frowned. “Sick?”
“I hear an echo. Are you trying to make me cross? Yes, sick. Humans get sick and we need to prevent or at least control any illness that might infect the Lady-Queen.” When he said those last words, the man’s face practically glowed. He looked radiant when the words ‘Lady-Queen’ left his mouth.
At first, it looked like love, to Ryou. He’d seen that look on Xiu’s face so often when he looked at Seiji. Then, when Ryou thought about it and when he saw that the same adoring look took hold of the other two men, he changed his mind. That wasn’t love. It couldn’t be. It was too mechanical. The expressions the three men wore were all exactly the same. No on in all of creation could equal Xiu’s devotion, his single-minded worship when he looked at Seiji and vice versa.
ARE YOU STILL THERE?
ALWAYS. I CAN FEEL YOUR FEAR. TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE.
I CAN’T. I DON’T KNOW. IT’S COLD AND THERE ARE STONE WALLS AND FLOORS. LANTERNS AND TORCHES FOR LIGHT. THE WOMAN JUST LEFT.
WHAT WOMAN?
THEY CALLED HER THE LADY-QUEEN. It was all Ryou had to offer and he felt the other’s disappointment and frustration. WHO ARE YOU?
YOU KNOW ME.
I DON’T.
I HAVE FAMILY WHO WILL HELP. DON’T LET YOURSELF FALL AWAY FROM ME. I WILL HELP.
How, Ryou had no idea. He clung to the voice, though. When the three men made to finish stripping off his clothes, Ryou pushed himself closer to the voice. It felt cool and comfortable, like an old sweater. It wasn’t until one of them tried to remove the crucifix that Ryou started to truly panic. It was his last and only reminder of sister Jo. She’d given up such a splendid thing for him, how could he just let it be taken? But no matter how hard he tried, his body wouldn’t move.
The treasure wasn’t lost, however.
The one who’d taken hold of the crucifix suddenly cried out and snatched his hand away from the necklace. “It burns!” He told the other two through clenched teeth. “Like ice and fire all in one!” He held out his hand as evidence close enough for Ryou to see that his hand was actually smoking. “Iron! The cursed thing is iron!” He spat these words and glared, not at Ryou, but at the necklace still resting on Ryou’s bare chest.
IRON! The voice nearly laughed and glee washed around Ryou, though it did little to cheer him. LUCKY BOY! THE BEST PROTECTION ONE CAN HAVE AGAINST THE FAE.
IT’S NOT IRON. IT’S SILVER. SISTER JO TOLD ME SO.
THEN SHE WAS WRONG. FAE HAVE NO TROUBLES WITH SILVER, IT’S ONLY IRON THAT REPULSES THEM. STAY CLOSE TO ME. I DON’T LIKE THIS.
Ningen Sekai-
Anubisu-
Rajura went to find Abraham and he took Kayura with him. Abraham knew it was where Rajura would go. Ever the strategist, Rajura must have known that gathering allies was the wisest move at this point. It was an interesting idea that he’d chosen to bring Kayura with him. After all, she was the empress and perhaps Rajura figured that a show of power would make Abraham more likely to help. It was a sound idea. Vampires were always impressed by power and Abraham hadn’t met anyone who could come close to matching his power for a long time. Perhaps Kayura, though young, would influence him to help.
‘He’d help for my sake, if for no other reason.’ Anubisu thought. In the Ningen Sekai, Anubisu hadn’t bothered to shed his yoroi. Why should he? Did he have anything to fear? No. There were no enemies to hide from but the people who’d taken Ryou. ‘Should have gone to him earlier and tried to explain. I might have been with him when the attack happened. Might have protected him.’ He couldn’t fool himself any longer. He couldn’t tell himself that it was nothing but bloodlust that drew him to Ryou. ‘They touched what was mine. They hurt him!’
CALM YOURSELF. Naaza soft voice spoke with serene reason. MAY I PRESUME YOU’VE GONE TO THE SITE OF THE ATTACK?
I’M THERE NOW. Anubisu glared blackly at the yellow police tape surrounding the overturned vehicle and the dispersing crowds of people. They stared at him, especially the men in blue uniforms. Their suspicious gazes followed him as Anubisu stalked around the upturned car. I CAN’T SEE ANYTHING. NO CLUES OR REASONS FOR ALL THIS.
REASON MEANS LOGIC. THEREFORE, WHOEVER HAS DONE THIS HAS NO SENSE OF LOGIC. THERE’S DANGER IN THAT.
SINCE WHEN HAVE YOU BECOME SO PHILOSOPHICAL?
PERHAPS I’VE ALWAYS BEEN AND YOU JUST HAVEN’T NOTICED.
WHERE ARE YOU?
AT A HOSPITAL LOOKING FOR THOSE OTHER BOYS. How he would deal with them once meeting them, Anubisu had no idea. Frankly, he couldn’t bring himself to care much. Surely, they wouldn’t trust Naaza. It had only been days after the war and they’d likely think any peaceful appeal he made to them was nothing more than a trap. They’d be foolish to think otherwise. DON’T WORRY ABOUT ME. TAKE TIME TO DO WHAT YOU NEED TO DO. Then Naaza closed his mind to Anubisu, no doubt setting off to do what Rajura had told him to do. It must have been an order. There was no way that Naaza would willingly put himself in the middle of so many morals without being ordered to.
No matter how hard Anubisu looked, there was nothing to be gained by staying at the scene of the crime. The only clue was a smear of blood where Ryou had lain before being snatched away.
“You’ll gain nothing by staying here, little brother.”
The wyrm, Lightfoot, stood near Anubisu. It was no longer disguised as the tiger or the wolf’s form it had worn so often in the past. It stood as tall as Anubisu in all it’s alien-like glory. There were no mortals on the street, but Anubisu couldn’t tell if it was the wyrm’s presence that had chased them away or if it was mere coincidence.
“Do you know where he is?” Anubisu didn’t want to look at Lightfoot. She’d been his dearest companion and to think that had all been a lie hurt almost as much as Ryou’s kidnapping.
“If I did, I assure you, I wouldn’t be wasting time by talking.” The wrym raised a sword in front of it with a tight grip on the hilt. It was an elegant weapon, Anubisu noted distantly. “Those who would insult me by infringing on my territory have forfeit their lives.”
“Who took him?”
The wyrm turned and met Anubisu’s gaze with it’s large, luminescent eyes. It was so utterly inhuman, yet so frighteningly human that Anubisu couldn’t decide what to make of it. The scaly skin and insect-like thinness could never be mistaken for human, but the way it spoke and how possessive it was certainly was human. “Can’t you tell?” The wyrm stepped closer until it was toe-to-toe with Anubisu, nearly chest to chest. “You’ve tasted his blood.”
“I’ve tasted many people’s blood.”
“But he’s different, isn’t he? The yoroi changes a person, not only emotionally. Physically, you change. Your mind opens, grows. You are able to speak without speaking to others who bear the yoroi.”
“Only with my brothers. Ryou’s entirely different.”
“Why? All of your yoroi was created from the body of the same demon, wasn’t it? Though the yoroi have been separated for much time and your comrades are separated from Ryou’s by mutual dislike, the yoroi DO belong together. You and Ryou are made closer by the shared blood. Had you allowed him to taste your blood, then the bond would have been stronger, still.” The wyrm reached out to Anubisu with it’s free hand and touched the part of his face that wasn’t covered by his helmet. The claws ran over Anubisu’s skin, tracing over the scar on his cheek, then sliding back towards his ear. The wyrm’s palm caressed Anubisu’s face gently, like one would pet a favored animal. The cool, dry scales were comforting. “Reach out to Ryou. Find the bond you share and use it. You can find his captors.”
Why not? There was no harm. Feeling strangely safe with the wyrm - Anubisu supposed that no matter how it looked, it was still the Lightfoot he’d always known - he closed his eyes and searched around his mind. He found the place where Naaza distracted with his hunting of the boys. Naaza’s anger at being so close to so many humans filtered though the bond despite the fact that he’d closed his mind. None of them could entirely close themselves off.
Next was Rajura, ever watchful of everything that went on around him. He stood in front of Abraham with Kayura at his side, determined to convince Abraham that Kayura was his mistress and empress of the Youja Kai. He kept watch over Naaza and Anubisu while he spoke with Abraham, but offered no advice only a vague sense of comfort.
There was Kayura still nervous and uncertain in her place. She realized Anubisu was watched her, but said nothing. She wasn’t experienced enough in this bond to talk to him and listen to Rajura and Abraham at the same time. That sort of thing came with practice.
Next to Kayura was a wounded place. A scar so deep and raw that Anubisu thought it might never heal. That was the place where Sh’ten had been. The wound no longer bled, but the painful throbbing hadn’t yet died away. It would be painful for a long time. ‘That selfish brat.’ Anubisu thought fondly. He missed the little hemorrhoid.
Anubisu moved away from that unhappiness and found, deep in the darkness of his mind, where even his brothers wouldn’t go, other bonds. There was his mother and the scar where his father had once been. There was a scar there, too, though it wasn’t as deep as Sh’ten’s because there was no yoroi to bind them together and the ache had dulled over time. His mother was, surprisingly, at the hospital on the same errand as Naaza, searching out the missing ronin boys. Then there was Abraham, ever watchful. He was like Rajura in so many ways. Fiercely protective of what he knew was his and now that he’d found a threat to his territory Abraham was up in arms. It wasn’t so much that Ryou had been taken, it was that a member of his household had been taken. To Abraham, it was a person insult. He reached out a tentacle like touch and Anubisu felt it touch him like a feather whipping across his face.
MISS YOU, KU. I’LL HELP. YOU’RE ON THE RIGHT PATH. GO DEEPER AND YOU’LL FIND THE LINK YOU’RE LOOKING FOR. MUCH DEEPER.
Anubisu did as Abraham advised and pushed himself deeper into his own mind There! A beacon of warmth, then a tiny flame. It was dim, but it was there. There was no one who could warm Anubisu like that. It was frighteningly dull, though. No wonder he was having trouble finding what had been so clear just a short while ago.
I’M WITH YOU. Anubisu tried to sound reassuring, but it wasn’t easy.
WHO ARE YOU?
YOU KNOW ME. ARE YOU ALRIGHT? YOU’RE FRIGHTENED. Of course the boy was frightened. What a stupid thing to say! PLEASE , DON’T BE AFRAID. TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE. I’LL HELP YOU.
HOW?
I CAN DO MANY THINGS. I CAN HELP YOU. WHERE ARE YOU?
I DON’T KNOW. I CAN’T MOVE. THEY DID SOMETHING TO ME.
THEY WHO?
FUNNY LOOKING PEOPLE. BIG EYES. WHITE SKIN. TALL.
The description was sickeningly familiar. A sense of dread filled Anubisu. FAIR HAIR?
YES.
FAE. It came out like a snarl, though Anubisu did try to follow Naaza’s advice and keep himself calm. I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN. BACKSTABBING, DISHONEST CRETINS! FAE!
ARE YOU STILL THERE?
Had Ryou thought he’d left? Probably. Ryou still didn’t know. He’d never know. And if Anubisu let slip his true identity, what reaction would Ryou have? The proud leader of his troops wouldn’t deign to be comforted by the enemy, of that Anubisu was certain. HE would push away any offered help and wait for rescue from his own companions. Most likely, he still didn’t understand how close the bond was. Did he even know that the others were probably feeling as miserable as he was? The loss of one affected all and if Ryou was where Anubisu thought he was, in Tintagel, then his companions wouldn’t be able to reach his mind. It would be nothing but an emptiness where Ryou should have been. Like the emptiness where Sh’ten should have been. ALWAYS. I CAN FEEL YOUR FEAR. TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE.
I CAN’T. I DON’T KNOW. IT’S COLD AND THERE ARE STONE WALLS AND FLOORS. LANTERNS AND TORCHES FOR LIGHT. THE WOMAN JUST LEFT.
WHAT WOMAN?
THEY CALLED HER THE LADY-QUEEN. WHO ARE YOU?
YOU KNOW ME.
I DON’T.
No. He didn’t and Anubisu did have to keep reminding himself of that fact, like the simpleton he was. I HAVE FAMILY WHO WILL HELP. DON’T LET YOURSELF FALL AWAY FROM ME. If Ryou were to pull away at this point, with his fear growing by the moment, Anubisu was sure he’d loose him. Perhaps he wouldn’t be able to find the weakened link if it were lost for even a second. I WILL HELP. Abraham had promised and Rajura wouldn’t have sent everyone out so urgently if he weren’t willing to help.
Ryou’s distress rose a good deal when there was threat to some treasure he had. Anubisu couldn’t see though Ryou’s eyes, but he knew the treasure was something so special that Ryou would have died for it. Only when the captor jumped away in shock did Anubsiu hear Ryou’s confused thought of, ‘Iron?’
IRON! Anubisu felt like laughing. LUCKY BOY! THE BEST PROTECTION ONE CAN HAVE AGAINST THE FAE.
IT’S NOT IRON. IT’S SILVER. SISTER JO TOLD ME SO.
THEN SHE WAS WRONG. FAE HAVE NO TROUBLES WITH SILVER, IT’S ONLY IRON THAT REPULSES THEM. STAY CLOSE TO ME. I DON’T LIKE THIS. But what could he do? Ryou was in Tintagel and there was no way for an outsider to open the way. Only a person from Tintagel could open the doorway and none of them would do that against their monarch’s orders.
“Have you found him?” Lightfoot. “You’ve been quiet a long while.”
Anubisu had nearly forgotten that he wasn’t alone and that he was still standing out in plain view with his yoroi. Now that he knew Ryou was alive and, relatively, well, discretion was becoming more appealing. “The fae have him. He’s got iron with him, but I don’t know how much protection that’s bought him. He’s afraid and says he can’t move or speak.”
“Glamour, then.” Lightfoot said. “What would they want with Ryou of all people? He’s never had dealings with them. It couldn’t be Rekka, the yoroi don’t activate without some tie to Earth.”
“They work in the Youja Kai.”
“Youja Kai is tied to Earth. It’s like…the flip-side of Earth.”
“You’re saying Ryou’s completely alone?”
“No. Even where he is, he has a tie to Earth. He is human and, therefore, he is the connection. The yoroi he wears will be weak and of no help. I doubt his friends can even feel his presence. They may think him dead. Did Abraham teach you nothing?”
“Leave him out of it. I have to find a way to Tintagel.”
“There is no way that I know of, but… you look pained.”
Anubisu felt pained. There was a burning in his arm. A familiar quick, sharp pain that slid through the underside of his right arm, a blade slicing between the muscle and bone. Anubisu bit back the cry, but he grabbed his armored arm. The pain was bearable, but it wasn’t his. “Ryou.” He gasped, looking up to meet Lightfoot’s increasingly irate face. “They’re hurting him!”
Ryou’s fear and pain flooded at Anubisu, adding to the pain in his arm. It was Ryou’s arm that had been cut. HELP ME! Ryou lashed out with his thoughts, desperate to be answered. THEY THINK I CAN’T FEEL ANYTHING! THEY THINK I’M UNCONSCIOUS! IT HURTS, MAKE IT STOP…PLEASE. The plea was fainter at the end, but Ryou didn’t quite faint. The pain throbbed and though Ryou, Anubisu could smell the metallic blood. Ryou, naturally, was horrified to smell his own blood. MY LEG. THEY WANT TO CUT MY LEG. ARGUING. THEY’LL STUDY, WANT TO TAKE ME APART.
There was pain in Anubisu’s leg so great that he fell and would have hit the ground had Lightfoot not caught him and held him up. It shot though his body, a dagger ripping up his spine to stab at his brain, and it was only a phantom pain. Only Ryou could feel the full brunt of the blades carving him up like a Christmas goose. Ryou screamed mentally, so loudly and so pitifully that Anubisu put his hands to his ears though he knew, logically, that it would do no good. Blocking his ears wouldn’t stop Ryou from screaming or Anubisu from hearing.
Dimly, Anubisu was aware that his brothers and Kayura had heard the scream echoing in his mind and felt that he, too, was in pain. Rajura was incensed and Naaza infuriated. Strangely, Kayura was the first one to reach out to him to try and soothe away the pain. Anubisu’s mother worried at him, her mind flitting against his like butterfly wings. Abraham, still with Rajura and Kayura, added his irate scream to Ryou’s.
WAR THEY WANT, WAR THEY SHALL HAVE! He was seeing red and called loudly to all of those who shared his blood, all the vampires he’d created and who served him. They would come, Anubisu knew. TAKE WHAT IS MINE! HURT WHAT IS MINE! THE FAE WILL BE DESTROYED IF I MUST RAZE TINTAGEL TO DUST!
That was the last Anubisu heard for Ryou’s pain was overriding everything. His vision blurred with tears and the only real thing was Lightfoot’s arm around him, holding him up. Anything! He’d have given anything if only to stop the pain!
Then there was darkness. A moment of nothingness and ease when he knew Ryou was near, could almost feel him. There was no pain, for just a moment, and that in itself made Anubisu feel lightheaded. Ryou’s presence brushed by, like a warm summer breeze, then was gone.
The pain returned, but it was different. More real.
Anubisu opened his eyes and found himself staring up at the hated faces of three fae men, one of them holding a bloody blade. He wanted to scream, to curse them. Not only for Ryou, but for the fact that they were fae and that all vampires hated fae and it was a trait he shared from his mother’s side of the family.
“There you are. I told you we hadn’t killed him. He’s fine. Let’s start in on the other leg.”
It wasn’t hard to figure out. He’d changed places with Ryou, somehow. Which mean that Ryou was safe with Lightfoot and that gave Anubisu reason to hope.
RYOU! CLOSE THE LINK!
WHAT’S HAPPENING? Ryou was confused and a little worried about finding himself in the arms of the fearsome wyrm. WHERE ARE YOU?
TELL RAJURA EVERYTHING. HE’S A FRIEND.
NOT OF MINE.
DO IT! Then Anubisu did something he didn’t believe Ryou could do. He closed the link between them, severing it so quickly that he was stunned by the solitude. Bad enough that he couldn’t feel Ryou any longer, but he was also cut off from his brothers. Alone. Completely and utterly alone. He felt like his heart would fail him, it was beating too quickly. If this was his fate, to be dissected alive by these butchers, then far better he just die. To die alone, though…that took more courage than Anubisu had. He tried his best to glare up at the men.
‘Do your worst. I’ll live to see you begging for your lives!’
To be continued…
Jomai-
“What do you mean, it wasn’t Ari you were trying to lure out? If not him, then who?”
Bion looked entirely too pleased with himself for Jomai’s peace of mind. He fairly preened under her steady gaze, if it was possible to preen while wrestling with a broken door. Little Liun was fussing in Jomai’s arms, waving her little arms around and Bion smiled at the child. “Father will be with you in a minute, daska. Little daska. As for Ari, he was the next step. I just wanted the boy to lure out the dhampire.”
“What makes you think Ryou would have anything to do with a dhampire?” Jomai found herself unaccountably angry. The dhampires had too many ties with vampires, for better or worse, and Jomai’s heritage roared at her that vampires were disgusting parasites, good for nothing but killing. She’d had a few run-ins with vampires in the past and none had left her with a good impression of their species. Dhampires couldn’t possibly be any better. “He’s a good boy. He wouldn’t associate with things like that!”
“Your species’ prejudice is glaringly obvious. Be careful or you’ll be mistaken for a fae.”
“That’s not funny.”
“It wasn’t meant to be. Quite seriously, you’re the strangest fae I’ve ever seen. You can think, you may as well do it. As for your Ryou, I could smell the dhampire on him a mile away. The boy knew him, when I’d described the dhampire. It would have been so easy to draw out the dhampire by using him. Now that Sedari…oh. Sorry. Now that our beloved Lady-Queen has taken him and is doing whatever she pleases with him,”
Jomai felt the blood rush from her head at that as all the awful things a fae could do to humans ran though her mind.
“Now that she has him,” Bion continued. “I suppose she’ll attract the dhampire’s attention as I’d wanted. Her only problem is that she isn’t expecting him to appear. She’s expecting Ari. Of course, the dhampire, when he finds Ryou in the hands of the Lady-Queen, will warn Ari and he won’t make his appearance.”
It did make sense and Jomai bit back a laugh. “She’s going to be terribly disappointed.” Somehow, Jomai didn’t feel too terribly bad for the Lady-Queen. “Regardless, we can’t leave Ryou in her hands.”
“What do you mean ‘we’?” Bion stopped fiddling with the door and went to take his daughter from Jomai. “I did my job. What happens to him now isn’t any of my concern.”
Instead of having his baby in his arms, Bion found himself faced with a handful of razor sharp fingernails and a furious fae. “It is your concern because if you don’t help me save him, I’ll skin your face off your skull. You’re the one who got him into this, you’ll get him out!”
“I was under orders from the Lady-Queen. What did you expect me to do? Disobey?” Bion wanted his daughter, but Jomai was a very intimidating female and her rage was towering, an inferno. “She’d have killed my mate and my daughter, not to mention me.”
“Your species cowards before Sedari like so many rabbits.” Jomai couldn’t help but spit the Lady-Queen’s name. “All the people of Tintagel do. I almost wish she’d find her Ari just to put and end to her madness, but if she could have him, I think she’d torture him more than she has anyone else.” Her face hardened and her grip on Luin tightened. “You’ll have your child, I guarantee that, but only after you help me.”
Bion threw his hands up in the air, helpless. “What do you expect of me? I’m only an imp. You think I can do anything to interfere with the Lady-Queen? I can’t even walk down the halls of her castle without looking suspicious.”
“I’m not asking you to get involved with any fighting or even any subterfuge. I want you to do what you’re best at.” She smiled sweetly. “I want you to FIND.”
“Find? Find what?” It was what he was best at. Of all his species, Bion was the best Finder. That was how he’d managed to track down Ryou, by finding the best way to lure out the dhampier and, therefore, Ari. It was his cursed curiosity that made Bion want to get involved.
“A way into the Castle of Light.” She grinned at him and stroked Luin’s head. “Can you do it?”
“I found a path to a man who should be dead, didn’t I? Trust me. I can find you a back door.”
Ryou-
The woman held a hand before her that reminded Ryou uncomfortably of a talon and she made a beckoning motion. "Make...it come to me." She command and it occurred to Ryou that she wasn't talking to him, but to the guards who still held him securely by the arms.
Each guard gave Ryou a slight tug on the arm and he walked forward. He thought that he had never seen such a beautiful face, or it would have been beautiful had it not been for the terrible sneer she wore. Lips that should have been delicate were twisted into a parody of a smile. Ryou didn't like it at all when she touched his face with one of her fingers, almost cautiously at first, as if she were afraid to.
"So...this is what my Ari likes?" Her hand was warm where she touch Ryou and he felt sure, very suddenly, that he could love her. She was beautiful and that scowl, it was just a slight frown, really. The woman's eyes were different, Ryou thought as he looked at her. The color was a little to vibrant a green and her eyes were simply to large. They were slanted upwards at a graceful angle, but they were to big. Not freakish, exactly, but far larger than any human eye should be. She was so beautiful...
'Stop it!' The voice in Ryou's head gave him a jolt. 'She's just using glamour on you, it's a kind of magic. Think about something else.'
‘Rekka? Where are you? I can’t feel you properly.’ It seemed further away than it ever had before even though the orb was resting securely in Ryou’s pocket. 'What do you want me to think about?' Ryou found that he really didn't want to think about anything other than the beautiful woman touching his face. She seemed fascinated just to touch him and rub her fingers over his skin.
'Anything. Get your mind off her.'
'But...'
'Now!'
The barked order made Ryou obey. He thought of his last algebra test and tried to remember all the questions. He hated math, really hated it. Touma was a patient teacher and had stayed up all night once to help Ryou study. He tried remembering all those equations and formulas that seemed so senseless and felt as if he were being drawn back into his own mind. The woman didn't look quite so beautiful as she had a moment ago and Ryou didn't like her touch.
Apparently, the woman noticed Ryou's lack of interest and it didn't please her. “Chain him to the wall.”
Ryou’s shoulders heaved and he took a deep, shuddering breath but he didn’t fight when the guards dragged him back to the wall and fastened his wrists to the wall above his head.
Lady-Queen Sedari-
When she went to the great depths of her castle Sedari found herself standing in front of the human boy, Ryou. He was mewling like a wounded animal when he was bound to the wall. Well, why shouldn’t he? The dungeon was dark and cold, certainly not a place to feel good. Even Sedari didn’t like the place much and it was hers.
He looked, to Sedari, typical for a human. Over muscled, like a horse, and crude just to look at. His browned skin and lank hair the color of ink. Nothing appealing about him at all. He didn’t even have the decency to keep his eyes lowered when she came into the room.
How he had managed to dismiss her glamour was a marvel and a miracle. Not even other fae could push her influence away so easily and humans had far weaker minds than fae. Yet, he had done it.
That dull face, those listless eyes, hid a secret. He did know Ari, but by a different name. Sedari reached out her hand to the boy and stroked the side of his face, making him moan softly and turn his head as far away from her as he could. He still hadn’t recovered from her little peek into his mind, apparently.
Gen Ma-Sho Rajura, the warlord of Illusion. Ari had changed not only his name, but his whole being. She’d seen him in Ryou’s mind wearing dark armor that was not Earthly made or even from any smith in Tintagel. The weapons he’d had and the fearsome helmet that looked like it was mounted with antlers, it was all so different from the gentle child she remembered. His eye was still missing and his long hair was still white as moonlight, but he soared into battle, an eagle. Ryou feared Rajura greatly along with another creature that was long since dead.
Now how had Ari come from the vast, cold lands of his childhood to being the minion of a demon? Then to help in overthrowing that demon and now…
One of Ryou’s memories flashed into Sedari’s mind.
The girl was very young with long black hair and red marks beside her eyes. Ari bowed to her. He bowed…to HER! It was enough to make Sedari’s heart thunder in her chest. Who was that whelp that she thought she could command darling Ari so easily?
Ryou cried out, but didn’t open his eyes. The sound was enough to remind Sedari of where she was. Her hand was still on Ryou’s face, but when she’d thought of that girl Ryou knew as Kayura her fingers hand clenched and she’d scratched four long, bloody gnashes in Ryou’s face. She stared at the blood and watched it drip down Ryou’s cheek until it ran onto his chin, then dripped down to fall on the boy’s foot.
“So,” Sedari spoke, even though she wasn’t sure the boy would hear her. “I know all your secrets, now. Ryou no Rekka. Your friends…your pain. I know it all, there’s no point in keeping you, now.” He was useless. “Still…Bion had a reason.” The imp was too clever to NOT have a reason for retrieving Ryou. “I can’t see the reason, though. You know my darling Ari, even though you did lie to me about that, but you hold no affection for him nor do you have contact with him. So why did Ari think you would be useful?”
Ryou looked up at here, then, finally prying his eyes open. There was pain and anger in his eyes, laced heavily with fear.
“Poor thing.” It really wasn’t his fault. He hadn’t chosen to do war against Ari. It was the fault of the armor that had chosen Ryou. “And,” Sedari continued her thoughts aloud, though she really didn’t care whether or not Ryou heard her. “If the armor chose you, and all your friends as you imagine, then it also chose my Ari. It’s the fault of the armor that he’s away from me. If I can get rid of the armor,” She started to smile, pleased with her idea. “Then my Ari will be free. He’ll be able to come back to me.”
Ryou’s eyes widened, the pain and anger both giving way to fear. No. It was greater than fear, it was terror.
“You look worried. Don’t be. It’s for your own good. If that armor hadn’t chosen you, then you never would have been involved with the war. You never would have hurt. Besides,” She laughed happily, more than pleased at her brilliant plan. “You’ve wished for this more than once. I’ve seen it in your mind. You’ve wished to have never heard of Yoroi or Rekka. I’m just going to make your dream come true.”
“No.” Ryou tried to pull his head away from her, but there wasn’t much room to move it and he ended up hitting his head on the stone wall behind him. “That’s not what I want!”
What a silly boy. “Of course it is. Don’t be afraid. It’s a favor to you. But, first…what’s that smell?” She raised her bloody fingers to her face and inhaled deeply. It wasn’t human, well, not entirely human. The blood was mostly human, but there was something else in there. Something very, very different. Something that Sedari had never smelled before.
No matter.
Sedari let her hand drop to her side and focused on what was important. Her promise to Ryou about helping him to rid himself of the armor that plagued his life was nearly forgotten. Ari. Ari preferred mortals. He’d spent time with this weak thing Sedari now had hung on her wall like fine art. He spent time with a dhampire. As Ari preferred mortals, then the answer to all Sedari’s problems was simple.
“I must be mortal.” Did she say that out loud? No matter. There was no one to hear but the human and even if he had overheard, what could he do? There was a process for what Sedari needed and, in order to do it, she needed a mortal life. One that hadn’t yet been born.
“Your majesty,” There were three males standing near the foot of the stairway that led up to the rest of the castle. They all blanched when Sedari frowned at them. “Please, your majesty. If this,” The spokesman pointed at Ryou. “Is what you wish to be, then we must study him so that we will know how to care for you. We know nothing about humans.”
“You know nothing about anything.” Sedari giggled at her own joke. “It’s a sensible thought. I’m surprised it came from your brain. Whatever you do, you mustn’t kill him. I’m going to help him once I’ve finished with him. Then I‘ll kill him. He keeps looking at me funny. It’s like he’s angry or something. Do what you have to do. If he dies, I‘ll hold you all responsible.” With that threat, she swept away and up the stairs, ready to begin the next phase of her plan.
To become mortal for Ari.
Ningen Sekai-
The Ningen Sekai was a filthy place, but it was the best place to get what she needed. It was more information she’d gotten from Ryou. Such a good boy to give it to her so easily. She needed a life, a mortal life, to usurp. A life untouched by any trauma to make her own. It was lucky chance that Ryou knew a new life still in development. It took Sedari time, though not much, to find the life Ryou had known about.
Eventually, she came to the right place. A massive building of metal and glass, shining in the evening light like a monolith, some monstrous shrine dedicated to a human god. She even paused a moment to stare at the place in awe. It rivaled even the Castle of Light in sheer size.
Not that Sedari would ever admit that anything a mere human could build could rival her own beloved castle. She’d worked hard enough for it. Killing her father had been the last in a long line of subtle plots that secured Sedari as ruler of Tintagel. She was more than happy to use the power she’d fought for. She liked to know that every stone of the castle belonged to her. She liked to know that everyone in the castle hung on her whim. She controlled everything and everyone loved her. How could they not? Was she not perfection? Of course she was. So why did that sad little human boy keep crying? Not that it mattered. Ryou could cry till his eyes floated out of his head, his comfort was not of any importance. All that mattered was Ari and why that lowly human smelled like Ari.
It was only a faint smell, but it was enough to tell Sedari that sometime, quite recently, the human boy had come into contact with Ari and he’d admit nothing. Well! Of all the arrogance! Not that she had to ask. Pulling the information from him was good enough. She knew Ari was alive, despite all the spiteful people who’d told her he must have died in the years since she’d seen him.
‘He wouldn’t. He wants to be with me. He’s alive because he wants to be with me. He’s cheated death for me and now I’ll sacrifice for him, just as he’s done for me.’ If anyone had bothered to look at her when she entered the sliding glass doors of the hospital’s waiting room, they’d have seen a mad glimmer in her eyes. A too bright shine that no sane person would have. The purposeful stride she set and the bustling waiting room ensured that no one saw her eyes or even really looked at her. ‘If Ari wanted a human, then a human he shall have.’
Sedari looked down at her white hands as she walked along the cold, sterile hall. The changes would have to be radical, but she would capture Ari’s attention again. He would adore her, just like all the others. He would touch her hands and whisper to her in the first light of day. It would be just as she’d always wished.
The place was filthy, crawling with humans. Pale green walls and white tiled floors, along with disinfectant, gave the place and unreal air, at least to Sedari. She disliked the place she’d appeared in, but there was really no choice. She knew that this was where humans came when they were to have their young.
She had to hold her breath as she walked through the halls, but held herself proudly and smiled when she noticed the vampire. He didn’t dare attack her. Of course he didn’t. She was Lady-Queen. She was Sedari. Who would dare such a doomed folly? Let them watch her as she passed, let them tremble - as they must have done - she had only one purpose.
‘Ari prefers mortals?’ Her mind kept revolving around that thought even as she searched the hospital halls for some sign of the woman she’d seen in Ryou’s mind.
That was the reason why the imp had brought the human boy back to Tintagel, wasn’t it? Surely, he had some connection with Ari. There could be no other explanation for his appearance. It seemed likely, to Sedari, that the boy was the one with whom Ari had been spending time. Ryou was not the feared dhampire, that much was clear. He was wholly human. The only evidence Sedari had about his connection with dear Ari was smell. Fae did not have as fine a sense of scent as many other creatures, but Sedari’s was fine enough to catch Ari’s fading scent on the boy.
Ryou.
His name was Ryou. Someone had mentioned that, though why Sedari remembered it was a mystery. It didn’t matter. She had the boy and Ari would come for him. Yes, that must have been the imp’s plan. Why should she care about his name? Why should she care anything about him?
‘But he’s had Ari’s attention when it should have been mine!’ The thought drifted across Sedari’s mind and brought with it, anger and confusion. ‘Why? He has me. Why would he spend his time with that mud-crawling human? I am more beautiful. My power is vast, far more than any human could hope for. Why should Ari chose that gnat over me?’
It was then that Sedari saw the woman. She was a mature human, but one of the ugliest Sedari had ever seen. Her hair was the color of tree bark and too wild to be contained in the plait the woman had wrestled it into. Her skin was dark. Not quite as dark as many creatures Sedari had seen, but too dark for a fae and the fae were, as everyone knew, the pinnacle of beauty. She was small, too. Short and narrow with no curves at all. Her bony wrists stuck out from the end of her sleeves and her ankles, bare for the sandals she wore,. She might have been the ankles of a skeleton they protruded so viciously. Even her clothes were ugly, though that seemed to be normal for humans. Coarse, harsh fabrics in unflattering styles.
She, this ugly woman, was also pregnant. She was the one in Ryou’s memory.
‘What luck! What spending luck!’ Sedari cheered, silently.
“Can I help you?” The woman was suddenly speaking to Sedari. How odd. Still, Sedari wasn’t too put off that the woman had managed to catch her unawares.
“Yes. I’ve been looking for you.” She exerted a little control and the woman sagged to the floor. When she struck her head on the floor with a resounding ‘thwack’, Sedari was comforted and knew the woman wouldn’t wake up any time soon.
The halls were quiet but for the muffled sound of babies wailing, but the sound wasn’t enough to draw Sedari’s attention away from her new pet. No. Maybe pet was the wrong word. After all, she didn’t intend to keep this one. She just wanted what was inside.
Triumphantly, she turned, ready to leave the awful place. Only when she’d turned around did she see the man. He was as plain as Ari was beautiful. So plain that he was ugly and he stared at her from behind black glasses that protected him from her glamour. “Problem?” The man looked at the woman on the floor and then back up at Sedari. “Hardly the place for cat-fights.”
He was talking to her? So brazenly, without any decent manners? Did this stinking human not know to bow before his betters? His hands tucked unceremoniously into his pockets and staring at her as if she were some common woman - it was unforgivable!
“Begone.” She said, contemptuously even as she picked up her prize and slung her over a shoulder. “My business here is done.”
“Yeah, maybe.” He gestured at the sleeping woman. “That’s a nice lady you’ve hurt.”
“If I wished for you’re opinion I’d have asked. Out of my way.”
“Sure. Just give me the lady.” He shrugged nonchalantly and drew a hand out of his pocket to push his dark glasses further up on his nose. “Wouldn’t papa be surprised? Me…playing knight in shining armor.”
A knight? Sedari remembered knights from her childhood. Unscrupulous dogs to man. ‘If this one wants to be one,’ She thought with vile pleasure. ‘Then I’ll treat him like one. Father always said knights were best when starved to death. It teaches them humility.’ She stepped closer and smiled as sweetly as she could. “Then, o knight, pray tell me your name.”
“Michael. Now give me…” Michael hadn’t been prepared for fae strength.
Sedari’s blow on the side of his head lay the man out, making him crumple to the floor, senseless. Even more pleased than before, Sedari touched the man with the toe of her foot and brought them all to Tintagel with a thought. The guards waiting for her were shocked to see the two humans, but Sedari briskly got to business and handed the woman over to two of her soldiers. “Be gentle with her and come with me.” She warned. The soldiers who picked up the body of the man weren’t nearly so careful. “That one,” She instructed. “Take him somewhere and lock him up.” What happened to him after that, Sedari really didn’t care.
Tintagel-
Ryou-
Ryou was scared of the woman and he was glad she‘d left. He didn’t admit it often to anyone, but a great many things scared Ryou. He’d spent a good part of his life running away or hiding just to survive. It had given him good reflexes about who and what was dangerous. He knew the look of a person that was not to be trusted and he should run away. He knew when an animal was dangerous and he should avoid them. He knew when storms turned bad he had to find shelter. That woman, though…she was like all of them wrapped up in one. A storm, an animal, and a devious human all boiling together under the deceptive skin of a…what was she?
Whatever these people were, the woman scared Ryou the most. There was just something terribly wrong with her. The way she smiled too brightly and her eyes were too shiny. The three studying him at the moment didn’t reassure Ryou any, either.
They weren’t human, but what they were he couldn’t say. Their skin was the wrong shade and they…they were looking at Ryou like he was an insect under a microscope. The men - Ryou was pretty sure they were men - surrounded him and Ryou found himself wishing the wall would swallow him up or that he could at least contact the others.
He felt so isolated. When he shifted, trying to get away from one man’s prodding finger, his hip ground against the stone wall and Ryou felt a familiar little lump in his pocket. The orb. At least he still had it. It was a comfort to know it was still in his pocket, though he couldn’t feel Rekka burning in the deepest pit of his mind like it usually did.
A sharp pain made Ryou hiss and he kicked at the man who’s poked him in the head.
“The injury,” The man told one of his companions. “Isn’t terribly sever, not so dangerous as it appears. The imp did his job well.”
“Yes, but will it heal? The Lady-Queen wants this creature alive.”
“We’ll do our best.”
“Our best may not be enough. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never studied one of these things before. We might not be able to put it together again after we’ve finished. They aren’t like us, you know. Fragile.”
There was another poke to Ryou’s head, sending a flash of pain through his body and he thrashed. His legs, thankfully, had been left free and Ryou kicked, again. This time, he almost made contact. It was close enough that he send the men scattering. “Keep your hands off me.” He grumbled. There was little to no hope of being freed, Ryou was cynical enough not to bother asking. At least his feet were free, Ryou knew he was lucky enough to have that much. “Don’t touch me.” If only his head would stop throbbing, Ryou was sure he’d be able think of a way out.
The three men looked at each other, uncertainly. Hadn’t they expected him to speak?
“Amazing.” One of the men turned to the other two, completely ignoring Ryou. “I had no idea that human language was so similar to our own. Understandable, yet remarkably more coarse. Look and see how he twitches. It’s obviously a panic response related to being bound. Animals are notoriously sensitive about that sort of thing.” Then he turned and gave Ryou and exaggerated, false smile. “Don’t…worry.” He said, slowly and loudly as if he were talking to an idiot. “We’ll take…good care…of you.”
Good care? “Then let me go.”
All three of them laughed at that and moved away from him without answering. They messed about for a few minutes out of Ryou’s line of sight. He tried to look to where they were, but couldn’t quite see them. He didn’t want to know what they were doing because he knew it had something to do with him and what they were going to do with him. He pulled at the chains holding his wrists to the walls, but couldn’t budge them. Unlike all the movies, there wasn’t a chain to give Ryou at least a little room to move. The wide metal manacles clamped around his wrists were fastened directly to the wall and every move he made had the metal digging painfully into Ryou’s wrists.
There was movement, half-hidden in the shadows of the torchlight. A pain filled moan and a whimper made Ryou strain to see what was in the shadows. The woman who’d caused so much pain before, who’d stolen all his secrets with just a touch, was back but it wasn’t her who was moaning and that worried Ryou. Who else did they have in this dungeon? The others could have been captured, too. If he’d been taken, there was nothing to say that this woman hadn’t taken Seiji, Xiu, Shin, or Touma. Any one of them would have been easy targets after the accident.
The accident. ‘I wasn’t dreaming. This is NOT the Youja Kai. I don’t know where it is, but it’s not the Youja Kai. The war is over.’ Just thinking that made Ryou feel a bit braver. ‘But the others…what if they’re dead? No. Touma and Shin weren’t even in the car wreck.’
“I’m back.” Sedari sang out as if it would cheer Ryou. She honestly looked disappointed by the grim expression Ryou wore. “Didn’t you miss me? No matter. I’ve brought more guests.” Sedari looked over her shoulder and smiled, pleased.
Even to Ryou, the smile was beautiful. It was awful. She was like a the sun. Amazingly beautiful, yet fatal if one were to get too close. “Lights,” She waved a hand easily in the air. “Enhance.” Instantly there was more light in the room, as candles appeared and the torches on the walls grew brighter. What the light revealed made Ryou’s heart sink and his fury rear up.
Shin’s mum.
She was unconscious, but stirring as she was held carelessly between two tall guards who looked strangely similar. Her limp hair was falling loose from her braid and she looked even more drawn than usual. On the side of her face was a large, darkening bruise.
“Let her go.” Ryou snarled, straining at the chains that held him so tightly to the wall. He knew it would do no good, but how could he let her be manhandled so callously? Especially considering her condition! “She hasn’t got anything to do with anything!”
Sedari looked at Ryou as if surprised that he’d spoken. It was like she’d only just realized he was there. “She has as much to do with anything as you do. Well, maybe not her, precisely.” She walked away from Ryou, which pleased him, and to Shin’s mum, which didn’t please him. “But the life she carries will be a treasure to keep.” She bent down low enough to put her hand on Shin’s mum’s slightly bulging stomach. It made Ryou feel sick to see her touching the gentle woman. “Such a strong life. Did you know that mortal lives are stronger before they are born? I always wondered why.”
“Get away from her.” Again, Ryou futilely pulled at the chains, but the only thing that accomplished was making them rattle. “I’ll kill you, get away from her!”
When his captor looked up at Ryou, her eyes glimmered with something wicked. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. You see, she’s very useful. With her, I will make Ari love me as he should. I believe that it’s a mortal he wishes for, but he has been keeping company with the dhampire, if the rumors are true. Well…mortal or dhampire, I’ll give him exactly what he desires.” She laughed and it was that laugh, more than anything else, that made Ryou afraid. “Put her somewhere comfortable and see that she’s fed when she wakes.” Sedari stood up straight and addressed the guards who held Shin’s mum then turned to one of the three scientists who’d come to study Ryou. “You,“ She jabbed a finger at him imperiously. “Will make sure to her safety and health. She’s not to stay down here. Take her somewhere more comfortable. One of the guest rooms. We mustn’t have her getting upset. Have fresh clothes set out for her and a warm bath. But,” She gave the guards a significant look. “You two stay outside her door. We wouldn’t want her disturbed.”
“Yes, my Lady-Queen.” They answered in unison.
Helplessly, Ryou watched as Sedari swept out of the dungeon followed by the guards dragging Shin’s mum and one of the terrible scientists. There was nothing he could do without his power. In this place, wherever he was, it seemed that Rekka had abandoned him. All it could do was talk to him and even then it seemed tired.
Ryou had never known such utter despair.
If he could get just one hand free, Ryou was sure…no. Even that was no good. ‘I don’t even know where I am. I can’t feel anyone.’ But Ryou stopped himself at that thought. His friends weren’t dead. He had to hold onto that thought. It didn’t seem right, anyway. ‘But I can’t leave without Mouri-san.’
One of the strange looking men came back to Ryou and took Ryou’s face in his hands. Ryou lashed a kick out at him, but the man was being careful to stay just out of the way. “Where am I?” Ryou said though gritted teeth. At that point, he thought that any information would be welcome. “How’d I get here?” He knew for a fact that Touma had been with him right before all this had happened. He’d spoken to Touma. The others were close by, too. He’d sensed Shin’s fear and Xiu’s pain while Seiji drifted in unconsciousness. These people who searched for Ari might very well have hurt the others.
“He’s almost like a real person, isn’t he?” The man said to his companions over his shoulder. “Really, they way they speak just astounds me.”
They were doctors or scientists of some kind, Ryou was pretty sure. They’d talked about studying him, though Ryou wasn’t entirely sure why. Something about the woman wanting to become mortal or dhampire. Dhampire? Now why did that sound familiar? Whatever it meant, Ryou was the lab rat for their experiments and there didn‘t seem to be anything he could do to change that. ‘We all know what happens to lab rats, don’t we?’ Ryou remembered all the movies he’d ever watched with the others about scientific experiments on animals. ‘They’ll kill me in the end. They don’t need me for anything, so they’ll kill me once they’ve found out what they want to find out.’ He had it in mind to fight and scream, at least show some defiance. Even if it wasn’t practical or dignified. He wouldn’t just lay back and let himself die.
Ryou had survived so much. His granma’s death. His father’s madness. Bishop Brannon’s attentions. His mother’s death. To give up at this point, when the war had been won and everything was starting to settle down, seemed like the greatest of foolishness. A real waste.
‘Yoko would pinch my arm if she thought I’d roll over and die. Joji would smack me on the head.’ But, of course, neither Yoko nor Joji were alive anymore. Yoko was murdered and Joji had died defending her. Seemed like a lot of people died around Ryou.
“Right, are we ready?” The man holding Ryou’s face turned it this way and that, trying to see every inch of Ryou’s face and even bringing himself close enough to look right into Ryou’s eyes. “Blue.” He said, somewhat astonished. “What a bright color to be wasted on a human. Still, no time to be lost.” He waved a hand in front of Ryou’s face and then everything changed.
It was a sort of lethargy that swept over Ryou. He hadn’t the strength to keep his eyes open, let alone fight for himself and found himself with his head bowed and eyes closed. He hung loosely on his bonds, the metal biting at his flesh, making Ryou think the metal would cut his hands off. What would he do if that happened? If these scientists decided to cut off his hands? He wouldn’t be able to fight. He wouldn’t even be able to hold the Ryoken and that thought, more than any other, terrified Ryou.
His mouth hung open, he could feel that. He could feel the air drying his tongue and gums. His armpits hurt from the way he was hanging, but Ryou couldn’t gather up the strength to straighten his legs and stand. Instead, he just hung there and let his arms hurt. Which, in turn, made his back and shoulders protest.
The hands were still all over his face. It was a cold, clinical touch and Ryou was quite grateful for that, at least. If it had been anything more…intimate, Ryou knew he wouldn’t have been able to handle it. To be helpless at the mercy of a stranger was bad enough , but to know that he couldn’t even scream made it a true nightmare.
The moved him, taking off the manacles and holding him up by the arms. “Put him on the table just there. Easy, now. We don’t want any damage done, yet.”
If Ryou could have distanced himself from the emotions that overwhelmed him, he’d have thought that it was an odd experience. He could feel everything. He could hear everything. The toes of his shoes being scraped along the stone floor when he was half-carried away from the wall to the sounds of the heartbeat of the man on his left who was holding him so close that Ryou’s head lolled against his chest.
“Ek!” The man on the left suddenly released Ryou and he fell to the floor in a helpless lump. “It touched me!”
“Look,” The other one said. “This is a dirty job, but it’s an honor. The Lady-Queen is depending on us. What if something goes wrong with the transfer? We need to be able to help her. If you’re squeamish about this sort of thing, a little touch from a human, then you shouldn’t have volunteered for this. Before this is over,” He laughed lightly. “You’ll be getting a lot more on you than just his skin. Blood and body fluids. Tears, maybe.” He said it with a kind of sadistic glee one only got from mocking one’s coworkers. He didn’t seem to be trying to frighten Ryou, didn’t even seem aware that Ryou was even awake. “If we have to, you might even find yourself elbow deep in flesh.” He laughed again. “Look at you shake! Didn’t know what you were in for, did you?”
“Stop it!”
“Oh, don’t worry. You have to learn sometime. Go on, pick him up, again. No good to just leave him like that. You’re pale as a ghost! Come on, you know as well as I do that he can’t feel a thing when he’s like this. What do you think I am? Cruel?”
He wasn’t joking, Ryou realized with a panicked sort of inner-laugh. He really didn’t think Ryou was aware of what was going on. ‘And I can’t tell them I’m still awake.’
Picked up, though gingerly, Ryou was again carried across the floor and then pulled up onto a raised platform. It was the table they’d just been talking about. Ryou felt his heart speed up and his stomach churned uneasily. ‘Lab rats get dissected.’ He thought. ‘Eyes put out, limbs cut off, poisoned…all in the name of science.’ And that was what they were about to do to him. ‘Elbow deep in flesh, he said.’
“Why is he still dressed?” One of the men asked. Ryou was starting to loose track of who was who. They all sounded very much alike when he couldn‘t see them. “Get them off. Can’t do a thing when he’s like that.” While they stripped him of his clothes, Ryou was thankful that his body seemed to have been shut off. At least that way, he knew there wouldn’t be any embarrassing reactions.
Ryou’s eye lids were pulled open and he stared into the faces of the men bending over him. Ryou’s chest tightened at the feeling of claustrophobia.
I’M WITH YOU.
Ryou started at the half-familiar voice that spoke to him again. It was the same voice that had spoken to him before and it still sounded angry. He was glad for it. With that voice, he didn’t feel quite so isolated, even if he didn’t know who the voiced belonged to. WHO ARE YOU?
YOU KNOW ME. The voice sounded evasive. ARE YOU ALRIGHT? YOU’RE FRIGHTENED.
Ryou wanted to deny it. One didn’t just tell strangers that one was weak, after all. But, if this person was already inside his head, then it didn’t make any difference. It wasn’t Rekka. It wasn’t any of his friends. Ryou thought that, maybe, he was talking to himself. Maybe he’d taken a bigger bump to the head than he’d thought. One look at the men hovering over him and Ryou thought that was the most likely course. Surely, things like that couldn’t really exist.
PLEASE , DON’T BE AFRAID. The voice paused and sounded pained. TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE. I’LL HELP YOU.
HOW?
I CAN DO MANY THINGS. I CAN HELP YOU. WHERE ARE YOU?
I DON’T KNOW. Ryou tried to at least look around, but even his eyes wouldn’t do what they were supposed to do. I CAN’T MOVE. THEY DID SOMETHING TO ME.
THEY WHO?
FUNNY LOOKING PEOPLE. BIG EYES. WHITE SKIN. TALL.
FAIR HAIR?
YES.
The voice didn’t answer for a minute and Ryou had the very definite feeling that the person whom belonged to the voice was angry. FAE. It came out like a snarl. I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN. BACKSTABBING, DISHONEST CRETINS! The ferocity of his hate ran around inside Ryou’s head, a squirrel running madly around his brain, the hate was unbelievably intense. FAE!
One of the men turned away from Ryou and walked away while the other two kept staring at him. When he returned, he handed some instrument to one of the other men. It was he, Ryou was sure, who’d done most of the talking and who’d teased one of the younger ones. He must have been the leader. “Where do you want to start?” The instrument he handed his leader was deceptively pretty. It was bladed along one edge and serrated on the other. Light from the torches and lanterns reflected off the thing and made it glitter like a macabre Christmas ornament. “IF we’re not allowed to kill it, then we can’t do too much invasive investigation.”
“Don’t be too sure. We can find out enough. It’s not as if we’re starting out blind. There’ve been studies done on humans before. We know the basic skeletal construction. I’m more interested in the muscular structure and nervous system, at this time.” He held the instrument with both hands as he looked at his companions. “The immune system might be a valuable thing to study, as well.”
“The what?”
“Immune system. Keeps humans from getting sick.”
The other man frowned. “Sick?”
“I hear an echo. Are you trying to make me cross? Yes, sick. Humans get sick and we need to prevent or at least control any illness that might infect the Lady-Queen.” When he said those last words, the man’s face practically glowed. He looked radiant when the words ‘Lady-Queen’ left his mouth.
At first, it looked like love, to Ryou. He’d seen that look on Xiu’s face so often when he looked at Seiji. Then, when Ryou thought about it and when he saw that the same adoring look took hold of the other two men, he changed his mind. That wasn’t love. It couldn’t be. It was too mechanical. The expressions the three men wore were all exactly the same. No on in all of creation could equal Xiu’s devotion, his single-minded worship when he looked at Seiji and vice versa.
ARE YOU STILL THERE?
ALWAYS. I CAN FEEL YOUR FEAR. TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE.
I CAN’T. I DON’T KNOW. IT’S COLD AND THERE ARE STONE WALLS AND FLOORS. LANTERNS AND TORCHES FOR LIGHT. THE WOMAN JUST LEFT.
WHAT WOMAN?
THEY CALLED HER THE LADY-QUEEN. It was all Ryou had to offer and he felt the other’s disappointment and frustration. WHO ARE YOU?
YOU KNOW ME.
I DON’T.
I HAVE FAMILY WHO WILL HELP. DON’T LET YOURSELF FALL AWAY FROM ME. I WILL HELP.
How, Ryou had no idea. He clung to the voice, though. When the three men made to finish stripping off his clothes, Ryou pushed himself closer to the voice. It felt cool and comfortable, like an old sweater. It wasn’t until one of them tried to remove the crucifix that Ryou started to truly panic. It was his last and only reminder of sister Jo. She’d given up such a splendid thing for him, how could he just let it be taken? But no matter how hard he tried, his body wouldn’t move.
The treasure wasn’t lost, however.
The one who’d taken hold of the crucifix suddenly cried out and snatched his hand away from the necklace. “It burns!” He told the other two through clenched teeth. “Like ice and fire all in one!” He held out his hand as evidence close enough for Ryou to see that his hand was actually smoking. “Iron! The cursed thing is iron!” He spat these words and glared, not at Ryou, but at the necklace still resting on Ryou’s bare chest.
IRON! The voice nearly laughed and glee washed around Ryou, though it did little to cheer him. LUCKY BOY! THE BEST PROTECTION ONE CAN HAVE AGAINST THE FAE.
IT’S NOT IRON. IT’S SILVER. SISTER JO TOLD ME SO.
THEN SHE WAS WRONG. FAE HAVE NO TROUBLES WITH SILVER, IT’S ONLY IRON THAT REPULSES THEM. STAY CLOSE TO ME. I DON’T LIKE THIS.
Ningen Sekai-
Anubisu-
Rajura went to find Abraham and he took Kayura with him. Abraham knew it was where Rajura would go. Ever the strategist, Rajura must have known that gathering allies was the wisest move at this point. It was an interesting idea that he’d chosen to bring Kayura with him. After all, she was the empress and perhaps Rajura figured that a show of power would make Abraham more likely to help. It was a sound idea. Vampires were always impressed by power and Abraham hadn’t met anyone who could come close to matching his power for a long time. Perhaps Kayura, though young, would influence him to help.
‘He’d help for my sake, if for no other reason.’ Anubisu thought. In the Ningen Sekai, Anubisu hadn’t bothered to shed his yoroi. Why should he? Did he have anything to fear? No. There were no enemies to hide from but the people who’d taken Ryou. ‘Should have gone to him earlier and tried to explain. I might have been with him when the attack happened. Might have protected him.’ He couldn’t fool himself any longer. He couldn’t tell himself that it was nothing but bloodlust that drew him to Ryou. ‘They touched what was mine. They hurt him!’
CALM YOURSELF. Naaza soft voice spoke with serene reason. MAY I PRESUME YOU’VE GONE TO THE SITE OF THE ATTACK?
I’M THERE NOW. Anubisu glared blackly at the yellow police tape surrounding the overturned vehicle and the dispersing crowds of people. They stared at him, especially the men in blue uniforms. Their suspicious gazes followed him as Anubisu stalked around the upturned car. I CAN’T SEE ANYTHING. NO CLUES OR REASONS FOR ALL THIS.
REASON MEANS LOGIC. THEREFORE, WHOEVER HAS DONE THIS HAS NO SENSE OF LOGIC. THERE’S DANGER IN THAT.
SINCE WHEN HAVE YOU BECOME SO PHILOSOPHICAL?
PERHAPS I’VE ALWAYS BEEN AND YOU JUST HAVEN’T NOTICED.
WHERE ARE YOU?
AT A HOSPITAL LOOKING FOR THOSE OTHER BOYS. How he would deal with them once meeting them, Anubisu had no idea. Frankly, he couldn’t bring himself to care much. Surely, they wouldn’t trust Naaza. It had only been days after the war and they’d likely think any peaceful appeal he made to them was nothing more than a trap. They’d be foolish to think otherwise. DON’T WORRY ABOUT ME. TAKE TIME TO DO WHAT YOU NEED TO DO. Then Naaza closed his mind to Anubisu, no doubt setting off to do what Rajura had told him to do. It must have been an order. There was no way that Naaza would willingly put himself in the middle of so many morals without being ordered to.
No matter how hard Anubisu looked, there was nothing to be gained by staying at the scene of the crime. The only clue was a smear of blood where Ryou had lain before being snatched away.
“You’ll gain nothing by staying here, little brother.”
The wyrm, Lightfoot, stood near Anubisu. It was no longer disguised as the tiger or the wolf’s form it had worn so often in the past. It stood as tall as Anubisu in all it’s alien-like glory. There were no mortals on the street, but Anubisu couldn’t tell if it was the wyrm’s presence that had chased them away or if it was mere coincidence.
“Do you know where he is?” Anubisu didn’t want to look at Lightfoot. She’d been his dearest companion and to think that had all been a lie hurt almost as much as Ryou’s kidnapping.
“If I did, I assure you, I wouldn’t be wasting time by talking.” The wrym raised a sword in front of it with a tight grip on the hilt. It was an elegant weapon, Anubisu noted distantly. “Those who would insult me by infringing on my territory have forfeit their lives.”
“Who took him?”
The wyrm turned and met Anubisu’s gaze with it’s large, luminescent eyes. It was so utterly inhuman, yet so frighteningly human that Anubisu couldn’t decide what to make of it. The scaly skin and insect-like thinness could never be mistaken for human, but the way it spoke and how possessive it was certainly was human. “Can’t you tell?” The wyrm stepped closer until it was toe-to-toe with Anubisu, nearly chest to chest. “You’ve tasted his blood.”
“I’ve tasted many people’s blood.”
“But he’s different, isn’t he? The yoroi changes a person, not only emotionally. Physically, you change. Your mind opens, grows. You are able to speak without speaking to others who bear the yoroi.”
“Only with my brothers. Ryou’s entirely different.”
“Why? All of your yoroi was created from the body of the same demon, wasn’t it? Though the yoroi have been separated for much time and your comrades are separated from Ryou’s by mutual dislike, the yoroi DO belong together. You and Ryou are made closer by the shared blood. Had you allowed him to taste your blood, then the bond would have been stronger, still.” The wyrm reached out to Anubisu with it’s free hand and touched the part of his face that wasn’t covered by his helmet. The claws ran over Anubisu’s skin, tracing over the scar on his cheek, then sliding back towards his ear. The wyrm’s palm caressed Anubisu’s face gently, like one would pet a favored animal. The cool, dry scales were comforting. “Reach out to Ryou. Find the bond you share and use it. You can find his captors.”
Why not? There was no harm. Feeling strangely safe with the wyrm - Anubisu supposed that no matter how it looked, it was still the Lightfoot he’d always known - he closed his eyes and searched around his mind. He found the place where Naaza distracted with his hunting of the boys. Naaza’s anger at being so close to so many humans filtered though the bond despite the fact that he’d closed his mind. None of them could entirely close themselves off.
Next was Rajura, ever watchful of everything that went on around him. He stood in front of Abraham with Kayura at his side, determined to convince Abraham that Kayura was his mistress and empress of the Youja Kai. He kept watch over Naaza and Anubisu while he spoke with Abraham, but offered no advice only a vague sense of comfort.
There was Kayura still nervous and uncertain in her place. She realized Anubisu was watched her, but said nothing. She wasn’t experienced enough in this bond to talk to him and listen to Rajura and Abraham at the same time. That sort of thing came with practice.
Next to Kayura was a wounded place. A scar so deep and raw that Anubisu thought it might never heal. That was the place where Sh’ten had been. The wound no longer bled, but the painful throbbing hadn’t yet died away. It would be painful for a long time. ‘That selfish brat.’ Anubisu thought fondly. He missed the little hemorrhoid.
Anubisu moved away from that unhappiness and found, deep in the darkness of his mind, where even his brothers wouldn’t go, other bonds. There was his mother and the scar where his father had once been. There was a scar there, too, though it wasn’t as deep as Sh’ten’s because there was no yoroi to bind them together and the ache had dulled over time. His mother was, surprisingly, at the hospital on the same errand as Naaza, searching out the missing ronin boys. Then there was Abraham, ever watchful. He was like Rajura in so many ways. Fiercely protective of what he knew was his and now that he’d found a threat to his territory Abraham was up in arms. It wasn’t so much that Ryou had been taken, it was that a member of his household had been taken. To Abraham, it was a person insult. He reached out a tentacle like touch and Anubisu felt it touch him like a feather whipping across his face.
MISS YOU, KU. I’LL HELP. YOU’RE ON THE RIGHT PATH. GO DEEPER AND YOU’LL FIND THE LINK YOU’RE LOOKING FOR. MUCH DEEPER.
Anubisu did as Abraham advised and pushed himself deeper into his own mind There! A beacon of warmth, then a tiny flame. It was dim, but it was there. There was no one who could warm Anubisu like that. It was frighteningly dull, though. No wonder he was having trouble finding what had been so clear just a short while ago.
I’M WITH YOU. Anubisu tried to sound reassuring, but it wasn’t easy.
WHO ARE YOU?
YOU KNOW ME. ARE YOU ALRIGHT? YOU’RE FRIGHTENED. Of course the boy was frightened. What a stupid thing to say! PLEASE , DON’T BE AFRAID. TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE. I’LL HELP YOU.
HOW?
I CAN DO MANY THINGS. I CAN HELP YOU. WHERE ARE YOU?
I DON’T KNOW. I CAN’T MOVE. THEY DID SOMETHING TO ME.
THEY WHO?
FUNNY LOOKING PEOPLE. BIG EYES. WHITE SKIN. TALL.
The description was sickeningly familiar. A sense of dread filled Anubisu. FAIR HAIR?
YES.
FAE. It came out like a snarl, though Anubisu did try to follow Naaza’s advice and keep himself calm. I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN. BACKSTABBING, DISHONEST CRETINS! FAE!
ARE YOU STILL THERE?
Had Ryou thought he’d left? Probably. Ryou still didn’t know. He’d never know. And if Anubisu let slip his true identity, what reaction would Ryou have? The proud leader of his troops wouldn’t deign to be comforted by the enemy, of that Anubisu was certain. HE would push away any offered help and wait for rescue from his own companions. Most likely, he still didn’t understand how close the bond was. Did he even know that the others were probably feeling as miserable as he was? The loss of one affected all and if Ryou was where Anubisu thought he was, in Tintagel, then his companions wouldn’t be able to reach his mind. It would be nothing but an emptiness where Ryou should have been. Like the emptiness where Sh’ten should have been. ALWAYS. I CAN FEEL YOUR FEAR. TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE.
I CAN’T. I DON’T KNOW. IT’S COLD AND THERE ARE STONE WALLS AND FLOORS. LANTERNS AND TORCHES FOR LIGHT. THE WOMAN JUST LEFT.
WHAT WOMAN?
THEY CALLED HER THE LADY-QUEEN. WHO ARE YOU?
YOU KNOW ME.
I DON’T.
No. He didn’t and Anubisu did have to keep reminding himself of that fact, like the simpleton he was. I HAVE FAMILY WHO WILL HELP. DON’T LET YOURSELF FALL AWAY FROM ME. If Ryou were to pull away at this point, with his fear growing by the moment, Anubisu was sure he’d loose him. Perhaps he wouldn’t be able to find the weakened link if it were lost for even a second. I WILL HELP. Abraham had promised and Rajura wouldn’t have sent everyone out so urgently if he weren’t willing to help.
Ryou’s distress rose a good deal when there was threat to some treasure he had. Anubisu couldn’t see though Ryou’s eyes, but he knew the treasure was something so special that Ryou would have died for it. Only when the captor jumped away in shock did Anubsiu hear Ryou’s confused thought of, ‘Iron?’
IRON! Anubisu felt like laughing. LUCKY BOY! THE BEST PROTECTION ONE CAN HAVE AGAINST THE FAE.
IT’S NOT IRON. IT’S SILVER. SISTER JO TOLD ME SO.
THEN SHE WAS WRONG. FAE HAVE NO TROUBLES WITH SILVER, IT’S ONLY IRON THAT REPULSES THEM. STAY CLOSE TO ME. I DON’T LIKE THIS. But what could he do? Ryou was in Tintagel and there was no way for an outsider to open the way. Only a person from Tintagel could open the doorway and none of them would do that against their monarch’s orders.
“Have you found him?” Lightfoot. “You’ve been quiet a long while.”
Anubisu had nearly forgotten that he wasn’t alone and that he was still standing out in plain view with his yoroi. Now that he knew Ryou was alive and, relatively, well, discretion was becoming more appealing. “The fae have him. He’s got iron with him, but I don’t know how much protection that’s bought him. He’s afraid and says he can’t move or speak.”
“Glamour, then.” Lightfoot said. “What would they want with Ryou of all people? He’s never had dealings with them. It couldn’t be Rekka, the yoroi don’t activate without some tie to Earth.”
“They work in the Youja Kai.”
“Youja Kai is tied to Earth. It’s like…the flip-side of Earth.”
“You’re saying Ryou’s completely alone?”
“No. Even where he is, he has a tie to Earth. He is human and, therefore, he is the connection. The yoroi he wears will be weak and of no help. I doubt his friends can even feel his presence. They may think him dead. Did Abraham teach you nothing?”
“Leave him out of it. I have to find a way to Tintagel.”
“There is no way that I know of, but… you look pained.”
Anubisu felt pained. There was a burning in his arm. A familiar quick, sharp pain that slid through the underside of his right arm, a blade slicing between the muscle and bone. Anubisu bit back the cry, but he grabbed his armored arm. The pain was bearable, but it wasn’t his. “Ryou.” He gasped, looking up to meet Lightfoot’s increasingly irate face. “They’re hurting him!”
Ryou’s fear and pain flooded at Anubisu, adding to the pain in his arm. It was Ryou’s arm that had been cut. HELP ME! Ryou lashed out with his thoughts, desperate to be answered. THEY THINK I CAN’T FEEL ANYTHING! THEY THINK I’M UNCONSCIOUS! IT HURTS, MAKE IT STOP…PLEASE. The plea was fainter at the end, but Ryou didn’t quite faint. The pain throbbed and though Ryou, Anubisu could smell the metallic blood. Ryou, naturally, was horrified to smell his own blood. MY LEG. THEY WANT TO CUT MY LEG. ARGUING. THEY’LL STUDY, WANT TO TAKE ME APART.
There was pain in Anubisu’s leg so great that he fell and would have hit the ground had Lightfoot not caught him and held him up. It shot though his body, a dagger ripping up his spine to stab at his brain, and it was only a phantom pain. Only Ryou could feel the full brunt of the blades carving him up like a Christmas goose. Ryou screamed mentally, so loudly and so pitifully that Anubisu put his hands to his ears though he knew, logically, that it would do no good. Blocking his ears wouldn’t stop Ryou from screaming or Anubisu from hearing.
Dimly, Anubisu was aware that his brothers and Kayura had heard the scream echoing in his mind and felt that he, too, was in pain. Rajura was incensed and Naaza infuriated. Strangely, Kayura was the first one to reach out to him to try and soothe away the pain. Anubisu’s mother worried at him, her mind flitting against his like butterfly wings. Abraham, still with Rajura and Kayura, added his irate scream to Ryou’s.
WAR THEY WANT, WAR THEY SHALL HAVE! He was seeing red and called loudly to all of those who shared his blood, all the vampires he’d created and who served him. They would come, Anubisu knew. TAKE WHAT IS MINE! HURT WHAT IS MINE! THE FAE WILL BE DESTROYED IF I MUST RAZE TINTAGEL TO DUST!
That was the last Anubisu heard for Ryou’s pain was overriding everything. His vision blurred with tears and the only real thing was Lightfoot’s arm around him, holding him up. Anything! He’d have given anything if only to stop the pain!
Then there was darkness. A moment of nothingness and ease when he knew Ryou was near, could almost feel him. There was no pain, for just a moment, and that in itself made Anubisu feel lightheaded. Ryou’s presence brushed by, like a warm summer breeze, then was gone.
The pain returned, but it was different. More real.
Anubisu opened his eyes and found himself staring up at the hated faces of three fae men, one of them holding a bloody blade. He wanted to scream, to curse them. Not only for Ryou, but for the fact that they were fae and that all vampires hated fae and it was a trait he shared from his mother’s side of the family.
“There you are. I told you we hadn’t killed him. He’s fine. Let’s start in on the other leg.”
It wasn’t hard to figure out. He’d changed places with Ryou, somehow. Which mean that Ryou was safe with Lightfoot and that gave Anubisu reason to hope.
RYOU! CLOSE THE LINK!
WHAT’S HAPPENING? Ryou was confused and a little worried about finding himself in the arms of the fearsome wyrm. WHERE ARE YOU?
TELL RAJURA EVERYTHING. HE’S A FRIEND.
NOT OF MINE.
DO IT! Then Anubisu did something he didn’t believe Ryou could do. He closed the link between them, severing it so quickly that he was stunned by the solitude. Bad enough that he couldn’t feel Ryou any longer, but he was also cut off from his brothers. Alone. Completely and utterly alone. He felt like his heart would fail him, it was beating too quickly. If this was his fate, to be dissected alive by these butchers, then far better he just die. To die alone, though…that took more courage than Anubisu had. He tried his best to glare up at the men.
‘Do your worst. I’ll live to see you begging for your lives!’
To be continued…