Chronicles of the West

Inuyasha snarled as another winged creature flew at him. This one was not like the fox bat, and it sure as hell wasn't pretty. It was a grotesque mix of bat and lizard. Bright green scales and spindly wings. It spewed venoms and acids at he and the others. Inuyasha had had enough and leveled the windscar at it, the creature exploding in the bright beam.

They had been facing one after another in their attempts to reach the castle. He hoped that Sesshoumaru's group was doing better. The fights, long and drawn out. A purposeful measure he knew, but with the enemy darting between his own group members, he couldn't blast at will. At this rate, they were burning time at both ends.

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Elda felt Niwa stiffen beside her and blinked at him. "Niwa?" she asked. Her guard focused his eyes on the horizon. "They are getting close" he told her softly. Elda wondered who he meant. "Who is getting closer?". Niwa turned to study her, "Have you not felt the surge of power that came recently?" he asked. At her nod, he continued, "That is the house of Taisho. Only they are that strong".

The house of Taisho? Lord Sesshoumaru? Elda felt her heart buoy hopefully. She was rescued! Niwa shook his head, "You will not be leaving, not if the makers can prevent it" he told her, his tone dark and serious, "There are those who will fight the Taisho. They will not make it in time".

Elda shook her head, "You can't know that" she snapped. Niwa lifted a smooth brow, "Look around you Elda" he growled, "How many creations have you seen here? What manner of life do you think they will find beyond this wall, without the maker's power?"

She hadn't considered that. "But they would try" she said. Niwa laughed and for once it was not the soft deep rumble she had come to know, but harsh and bitter. "They would be hunted and slaughtered for being unnatural" he retorted, "Even you, you feel it in your blood. The need to eradicate what should not have been".

She did feel that pull and though she wanted to deny it, she knew that he knew the truth. "That may be" she told him, "But you can still try to find ways to live together. Not everyone is so cruel". Even as she said she wondered if that were true.

Niwa grunted, obviously not believing her. "The world that you wish to see is not the reality" he told her and then he walked away. He hated his makers true, but he wanted to live. That left several options open to him and none of them desirable.

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Ayeka reviewed the reports carefully, looking for an indication that enemies would rise against the west in it's perceived weakened state. It was always so when Sesshoumaru left his domain. Whispers of rebellion, those jealous of his far reaching power.

However, this time it was not so. Those who wished to see the house of the Taisho fall, apparently understood that the stoic lord was the last bastion between them and a malevolent power. They did not tamper with his borders, and for once Ayeka breathed a sigh of relief.

The patrols continued as usual, security remained heightened. The court was tense. If the great Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha failed…then they stood no chance at all. It was not a pleasing thought in the least. The gossip mongers were quieted, no one dared speculate such a dark outcome for it meant the end of life as they knew it. No, it was far better to die with their demon master in a bloody melee, than to bow in the shackles of a demented human.

Ayeka wondered if this was the end of the demon's power in the world. She knew that at some point that authority and influence would fall away. Thinking to the future, where men ruled and dementia raged, there had been no youkai there. None that she had found.

Only, Sesshoumaru. And he had only ever come for her. It roused questions in her mind. How long would her life and the lives of her children continue? Would they be wiped out, no mark left in the annals of history? Was Alastair the one to accomplish that?

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Silvana looked out the window of her chambers with a heavy heart. Tonight was the night… and Ryu hadn't come. She had a handful of hours left before the moon reached it's peak. She wondered, why the moon's position was so important to Sero and Josin.

In all the readings they had done, she and Ryu had never found mention of a critical time for mating. She could only deduce that had something to do with alchemy or perhaps the dark arts. Yes, that made sense. They wouldn't merely take her. They would break her, and bend her power.

She shivered turning from the window, unable to watch the progress of that bright sphere any longer. It was maddening. She paced the length of her room like a caged animal, cursing the holy shackle that winked in the bluish light.

What if they hadn't felt her power? What if they had and had been killed in the surrounding wilds? The thought filled her with the sinking cold of dread. That couldn't be possible. In the back of her mind a tiny voice snickered, 'Yes it can'.

Josin had come to her earlier. He and Sero, smiling and laughing, talking about the joyous event to come. Silvana hated them. She'd never truly hated another until that moment. It was not a feeling she cared for, but it made the fear, the cold vanish. Yes, her hatred kept her warm.

She thought dismally of the coming hours. Her forced mating to these foul things. Her rape, her total despair as she would be forced to submit, to save the life of another. Even it was only to buy time for Elda's rescue. She was strong. She would figure something out. She had to.

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Sesshoumaru was brutal, pushing them onward. One golden eye following the progress of the moon in the dark sky. Beside him Amari tensed. He too was aware of the passage of time. Glancing backwards he looked at the hanyou. Ryu was barely holding it together, his golden eyes tinging pink before snapping back to normal.

That control was delicate at best, and should Ryu discover the true reason behind his haste before the critical moment, it would snap. He couldn't allow that to happen. Ryu's demon instincts would be to remove his mate from the threat, or to remove the threat. Which was chosen was entirely his prerogative.

Sesshoumaru's aim was to avoid outright conflict within the boundaries of Alastair's domain. It was more than likely fraught with traps and he could not allow them to gain further access to his genetics. He made that more than clear to the others, and they had understood the reason for his caution. Ryu was a wild card with no promised outcome. Sesshoumaru disliked that…greatly.

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Sesshoumaru was most relieved when the castle walls rose up before them. Black against a dark sky. The golden windows flickering like predatory eyes across the distance. The air was quiet as Sesshoumaru directed them to land.

Above them, there was no flicker in the air to indicate an airborne threat. Golden eyes narrowed in thought. They would likely be within, waiting. Sesshoumaru suspected they would be acting as a buffer between the makers and the interlopers.

"Toga" he commanded, and his son came forward, "I want to infiltrate from both sides, the castle is large and without scents to follow, we will need to cover ground quickly". Toga nodded his understanding. "I can't help but think father that you follow an unseen timeline".

Sesshoumaru lifted his flashing eyes to the moon, "When it reaches it's peak we will likely be too late. Inuyasha is drawing close even now, that is good". He felt the spike of youki that was clearly that of his sibling. He was perhaps, a mere half hour behind.