Hello all,
After a long wait here is finally chapter 6 of The Damned. It took me a while but it's done. I would just like to thank my last reviewer. He/She really pushed me to finish this chapter since I was lazy until then.
Sorry again for the delay and Enjoy : P
Hunt
As she opened her eyes, darkness greeted her. It was oppressing and menacing; two feelings that she had never associated with the dark. She had always loved the dark, always felt at home in it. It was her place of comfort. Nobody had been able to touch her in that realm. Since her parents' death, of course… That had been so long ago. And yet, in this blackness, it felt like it had happened just moments ago. Memories were flashing all around her. Her mother's smile when they slept in each others arms, her father training her with fierce determination "No daughter of his was going to be weak and not be able to defend herself when the need arose." Their love washed over her to be quickly replaced by torches at dawn coming closer and closer. Her father yelling at her to hide in the underground tunnel until the next nightfall; Her mother carrying her towards the bottom of the house, pushing her into the tunnel and closing the trap behind her. Kaoru had also been surrounded by darkness then. It hadn't been silent though. It hadn't been silent for a long time.
She tried to escape her memories, tried to look, to feel beyond herself. It was impossible. She was all alone. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. Panic was slowly making its presence felt. She was panting even though technically she didn't need to breath. Kaoru tried desperately to pierce the darkness all around her. She was hearing whimpers and soft screams. It was only when the coldness started to seep into her bones that she realized that she was the one making these noises.
"There's no way out! No way out! No way out, no way out, no way out, no way out, no… way…out… out…out…out…"
The air all around her was so cold. Pulling herself into the foetal position, she tried to fend off the chilling air. She could feel tears rolling down her cheeks Kaoru had thought she was not able to cry anymore. However, the tears kept on flowing. It felt as if she would never feel warm again.
It was then that she felt a soft, warm touch wipe away her tears. The comforting touch stayed on her cheek until the tears stopped. The touch seemed then to envelope her completely, keeping her warm and away from the frigid air. The darkness became the comforting being she had known all her life. It wasn't frightening anymore. In this warmth, it seemed impossible to feel any fear. A calming peace swept through her whole being, something she had not felt since her mother's embrace or her father's protecting hand.
Her heart beat calmed itself. Her mind drifted towards the darkness where rest was assured.
The young vampiress had finally calmed. Shortly after Megumi had finished bandaging her wounds and making her sip a cup of medicine, she had become agitated almost falling off the king-sized bed that was in the guest room in the basement. It was around that time that the pack had finally made it back to the estate. Aoshi had telepathically transported the girl and himself to not loose time. Kenshin had arrived to the room to find her kicking her comforters and silently whimpering. Tears had streaked down her cheeks.
Unnerved by these simple tears, he had been at a loss at what to do. Unexpected pain lanced through his chest. Whipping away her tears, his hand lingered there, unable to move. It was then that he realized that despite the many blankets that covered her, her skin was still icy cold. With all the speed that he possessed, he built the fire in the chimney as high as it would go.
Kenshin stood above her slight form a little while longer, his hands back on her cheek. He could feel her whole body still shivering. The tears had started up again. Without even hesitating for a moment, the were lord stripped completely to then settle around the vampiress' trembling body. Moulding his body to hers, he held onto her. A fierce possessiveness took hold of him, building until he could not imagine this young woman ever not being in his life.
"You are safe now." He whispered with soft tenderness. If anybody had heard him at this moment, nobody would have recognized this voice to the usually stern one of their leader and protector.
"No one will harm you in this place. I won't allow it. You will stay by my side where you belong."
His arms tightened around her waist. How long they staid this way, he could not tell. However a slight smile of satisfaction touched his face as she stopped shivering and she snuggled closer to his heat.
The sorcerers stood together in the woods. Her trace had easily been found at the base of the castle. Not trusting the guards, the men had set out on their own. Their master would not tolerate another mistake like the one they had done. They were to trust only their abilities. Others were inferior to their intellect and only useful for the most common of tasks. That medallion had to be found and its power harnessed if the war against these abominations should be won. These damned creatures of the night could not be allowed to live.
However, the sorcerers were not able to continue their pursuit. They had found an area where a lot of blood lay on the ground as well as on a couple of trees. The bushes around the small clearing had also been disturbed. Strangely enough, the trail ended there. No blood had trickled down one specific direction like it had been the case ever since they had left the castle. This demon was proving to be more of a complication than they had originally thought.
"Where DID IT go?!", the large sorcerer exclaimed, his temper rising. Disgusted with their lack of success, he could not stand still. He kept pacing from one side of the clearing to the other, trying to find a clue that would indicate which way it had gone. With every moment, he could feel himself loosing his cool. This creature could not be allowed to escape. It held the key to the destruction of its kind.
"Marius. Stop." It was said with a calm voice by the tall and thin sorcerer. "It is obvious that something helped it escape. It was too injured to generate such a sudden disappearance."
Marius had stopped his pacing the moment the command was said. Turning towards his companion, he asked: "Who would help it, Marius? It had no connection to any of its kind and was just running wild creating mayhem wherever it went. Its life was solitary. This was confirmed by our master himself. No one would know better than he."
"I don't know how it did it but I know from the quantity of blood that it lost since the castle, it would not have had the strength to perform such a feat."
"What do you suggest we do Sergei?"
The third sorcerer that had stayed silent up until this moment spoke up. "We must perform a tracking spell. Whoever helped this creature escape used magic. Its disappearance would not have been so complete if it had been otherwise."
The sorcerers looked at each other with glum faces. Tracking spells were among the most difficult spells even for the most experienced magic user. The tracking spell itself would not just vanish once they had found the individual. It would stick to person or object until the sorcerers would die. Until then, they would be able to find that person wherever it would be during their entire lifespan. It would however continue to drain a small amount of energy throughout their lives. Tracking spells were used only in the most dire of circumstances since they were permanent, the spell broke when the spell casters died.
Not hesitating, the sorcerers formed a triangle around the part of the clearing that had the most blood and began centering their energy into themselves. Each grabbing some dirt with some blood, they held their arm out so that their knuckles touched in the middle of the area.
Sweat could be seen trickling down their brows as they kept harnessing more and more energy. The energy in them became so strong that their eyes turned pitch black and their outstretched arms started to shake.
A black fume started to spread all around them, originating from their closed fists. The trees surrounding the area started at first to loose their leaves, to then slowly die, their bark becoming smooth and white as if lightning had struck them. The grass under their feet became dry and yellow. The bushes wilted and became mere dry sticks. It seemed that once the toxic fumes touched any living creature whether plant or animal, it would die instantly.
The sorcerers, not caring of what was happening around them, continued to focus only on what they were doing. The fume clung to them like a second skin, helping them control the dark powers that they were gathering.
Suddenly, Marius opened his mouth as wide as possible. No tongue could be seen. It was just a black whole. Dark energy beamed out of his mouth, directly to his fist. The other two quickly followed suit until the middle beam was thick, black and heavy with dark magic.
Their heads were pulled back, as if held by an invisible hand. The angle was unnatural and it looked as if their necks were about to break at any moment. The middle beam followed the direction of their eyes and moved skyward, forming a dark commit, destroying everything in touched.
The sorcerers sank to the now dead ground. The tracking spell was cast and all was left to do was wait.
Kenshin woke with a start. He felt it immediately. Something dark and powerful had disturbed his barriers. Eyes glowing amber, he snarled at the threat that was nearing what was his. His woman, his pack, his people, his land.
Standing quickly, he put the strongest barriers around this room, thankful that it was underground and that nature would add its protection.
Climbing the steps two at a time, he stepped out on the battlements and scanned the sky. He had never felt such power. It was coming fast, very fast. The guards felt unease but could not associate it with anything. Sano was rushing towards him.
"Do you feel it? It's coming from the North, and fast." Sano could see that Kenshin was on edge, practically growling out load. His eyes were as amber as they got, practically glowing in broad daylight. His red mane was practically cracking with energy. His knuckles were fisted at his side as he continued to stare towards the North.
Sano had never seen him on the verge of loosing control when faced with a difficult situation. Sano wondered if his current mood had anything to do with the young vampiress they had rescued. He had been acting on edge right until they had gotten back to the estate.
Kenshin was always calm and cool, making rational decisions. He had heard that he had lost control at a time when he had been away from the estate. No one spoke of it now.
"I know. It's very strong." Kenshin looked up at the sun. It was high noon. Aoshi would not be able to help with this magical threat. But he would be able to protect the others underground.
He looked in the yard. There were weres everywhere, minding their business. They were slightly nervous but nothing more.
"Everyone inside NOW!!!! Go to the underground chambers! Lock the doors and barricade them!"
Not bothering to ask why the orders were given, the guards rounded up the children and women and guided them back to the estate. Doors were being barricaded as well as windows.
Satisfied that his orders were being followed, he now turned towards Sano. "Make sure that everyone is safe underground. I have already put safeguards around the vampiress' room. It is the most protected room. Guide Megumi, Yahiko and Aoshi to that chamber. If anything happens to the top buildings, that room will keep them safe against the sun."
Sano left without a backward glance to his friend. Kenshin was the strongest fighter he knew. He would be fine.
'Aoshi, protect the others. This dark force is very strong and I do not know if I will be able to fight it back. You must stay underground and see to the others. Make sure that the safeguards will hold.'
'Understood.'
Focusing on the danger at hand, Kenshin kept his focus to the North. Safeguards had been put all around the estate but the thing that was coming was so powerful. In all his studies of magic and the black arts, he had never encountered such strong magic. A gut feeling was telling him that all this had something to do with the vampiress. It was probably those three sorcerers that had been in his lands before.
That thought made Kenshin's eyes glow even brighter. Sorcerers were powerful, but up to this moment they had been content to destroy their kind in countries where they had the support of the governments and population. They had never dared to enter his lands since they considered it too small to be very significant. Now, they were practically attacking him head on.
Measuring the safeguards again, Kenshin prepared himself. From afar, he could see a dark cloud or commit of some kind approaching fast.
Eyes widening in surprise, he had a hard time comprehending what that thing was.
'A TRACKING SPELL!!! I have never seen one before. If this thing is allowed in my estate, it will…' Kenshin imagined the young vampiress sleeping in the underground chamber. So young, so innocent. He would not allow anyone to harm her. That tracking spell would not touch her.
Strengthening his safeguards, he started building his own inner strength to fight back such a spell. A tracking spell of this magnitude would have to be destroyed head on. There was no way of diverting it from its purpose.
'Aoshi, are you aware of any incident in the past where one of our kind was called upon to destroy a tracking spell?'
'There has been only one recording of such an incident in the past. It was successful but the one destroyed was much weaker than this one. You must find another way.'
Realising his lack of time, Kenshin quickly thought of what could be done. He had to weaken the spell somehow.
'Aoshi, tell Megumi to take some blood from the vampiress and then send it to my location.'
Kenshin quickly fabricated three earth puppets. By the time he was done a pouch of blood was beside him. He felt revulsion that he had to take more blood from the young woman but it could not be helped. Inserting blood in all three puppets, he sent them flying in all three directions with Aoshi lending him his strength.
The commit then wavered in his tracks, unsure of its destination for the very first time since it started its long journey. It started transforming its shape until it split into four smaller commits. One continued its path towards the castle.
An evil grin appeared on Kenshin's face just then 'This is much more to my liking. That spell has lost much of its power.
Harnessing the energy from his inner beast, from nature, from the land and the far ocean, Kenshin raised his sword towards the sky. Lightning arced through him until his red mane floating all around his slight body. His grin stayed in place during the whole time. This was his element, his comfort zone. No one could beat him then.
The comet was upon him. The barriers held off its first attempt at entering. Kenshin's grin widened even more. Eyes more wolf than man now, he jumped into the air towards the black globe.
Something was wrong. She could feel it. The warmth that had comforted her was long gone. She had started trembling again and still the warmth had not come back.
The dark was oppressing. Kaoru had started to feel caged again and panic was starting to settle deep in her. She wanted that warmth back. Where was it?
Sudden pain went through her. She yelled out her distress, hysteria sounding in her own ears. The pain was so cold it burned her entire body.
'Someone make it stop. Please make it stop…'
And then there was nothing. Pure emptiness. Just the cold in the dark.
Sooooooooooo? What do you guys think? Masterpiece? Good? Bad? It sucks? As usually, let me know through numerous reviews what you think.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!
missy-oa
ps sorry for the cliffy but I couldn't resist. : P