LITMIR.BIZ

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kiss.” He lowered his lips to hers as she fell asleep… Tonight he would let her body and mind sleep and he would keep contact with her to strengthen the bond of the thrall. He would make her want him to the point of physical pain so she would have no choice but to seek him out and feed the craving.

      He lay down beside her, drawing her body within his arms, inhaling her scent. He smiled to himself knowing she was such an innocent… just a woman-child really. He had no desire to change that tonight. His body tightened around her possessively. She was pure and oblivious to the fact that she was now under his control while asleep within a dream. She was his!

      Several miles away Hyakuhei tossed and turned as he dreamed the same dream as Kyoko… the dream demon now had them both within its clutches and they didn’t even know it. The demon laughed silently at the chaos it had created. Oh, it was undoubtedly under Hyakuhei’s control but its mind remained untouched. For how long was still an unknown and it sought to strike back at its jailer while it could.

      The sliver of crystal within the dream masters spirit gave him the power to look deep within Hyakuhei… so deep he could see through The Heart of Time and into another reality. Past or future world… it didn’t matter for it was the truth and he would use it against the dark one that had chained him.

      He would feed the memories into both Hyakuhei and the priestess so they would know defeat not once… but twice. This was the land of demons and the demons should always win.

      *****

      Kyou carefully held Kyoko in his arms even though she was asleep. He had put some distance between Hyakuhei and the priestess but somehow… it was as if Hyakuhei was still within touching distance of her. His guardian blood roared in response to these thoughts while he held her a bit tighter to himself.

      Lifting a hand to cup her cheek, he felt foreign warmth start to spread through him when she turned her face slightly into his palm. His golden eyes hardened when she whispered a name in her sleep. She had said the enemy’s name so tenderly.

      With an angry growl, Kyou tried to peer into her mind to see what she was dreaming about but found a barrier keeping him from the dream. His gaze narrowed… a dream demon’s barrier? How dare Hyakuhei construct a bond with Kyoko using a lowly sleep demon? His lips thinned with the knowledge of how much power the dream demon had within its enchantment.

      Stopping in midair, Kyou sent a banishing wave of psychic power directly into the barrier and smiled icily when he heard the faint scream of the dream master as it left her mind. He could sense the taint of Hyakuhei leave her as her dream came to an abrupt end. He could only hope Hyakuhei was now wide-awake, in a cold sweat… and in pain.

      Kyou shifted her up closer to his face so he could watch her as he flew to the veiled barrier that hid his castle from all. Others would only see a dreary forest covered in mangled strangling vines and the rain, but he knew the illusion.

      Closing his eyes, he whispered secret words and the morbid landscape shifted as a hole in the hidden barrier opened… allowing him to enter. The illusion closed behind him. The enchantment had once again sealed his home from the restless world of demons.

      The barrier itself was a stroke of genius created by his father Tadamichi to keep unwanted enemies from attacking. In the end however, Kyou discovered the true purpose of the barrier… to prevent Hyakuhei from returning home. It was a fitting punishment so long ago, Kyou had witnessed his uncle standing just outside, staring in and wanting… no… needing to reach past it and grasp the power Tadamichi had left behind.

      He flew over the lush grounds that surrounded his palace, entering an open window on one of the upper floors his feet silently landed on the marble floor inside. With grace, his steps made no sound as he walked to the side of the room that held a pillow large enough for a dozen people to sleep on.

      Bending down, Kyou laid her gently on the soft pillow only to stare hard at her. Why had he taken her? He knew why… `because he wanted her'. That had been enough.

      He knew when Kyoko awoke that she would hate him. Kyou did not want her to hate him. Again he wondered why he cared so much about what she thought of him. Since when had he wanted something that did not already belong to him?

      He growled softly, getting annoyed with his own tangled thoughts. How could he get her to agree to stay here, with him, without having to fight her every step of the way? This was a new obstacle to the lord of the demon realm.

      If it had been someone else causing these thoughts to haunt him, he would just destroy them and go on with his existence. But… she was their priestess… he was her guardian. He didn't want to kill her. He didn't want to hurt her at all. He wanted only to keep her. This notion surprised him.

      He would make a deal with her. Yes, she would show him what he wanted to know. Only then would he let her go… If she still wanted to go and he would make sure she did not. The fact that Hyakuhei had slipped into her dreams only a few moments ago heightened his need to keep her close.

      His only concern at this point was the power of the dream master… was it strong enough to breach the barrier that surrounded his home? Would the ancient magic be enough to protect her? She had no idea how much danger she was really in. Kyou's golden eyes shifted to her face as he sensed her pulse speed up. She was waking up.

      He sat down on the pillow beside her and waited. First, he would try to calm her fears. Then and only then would he be able to move on to the next step… keeping her beside him regardless of the cost.

      Kyoko felt like she was on a cloud and it confused her. Her hand moved across something very soft and she wondered if she was dreaming again… Hyakuhei had kissed her so softly. Why had he kissed her? Her eyes fluttered open only to widen when the first thing she saw was Kyou sitting beside her, looking like a frozen angel that had lost its wings.

      Emotionless golden eyes were pinning her to the spot where she was lying. The similarities between her dream and her reality were disheartening to say the least.

      She quickly looked around her noticing the black marble floor and stone walls. Her first thought was that this was just like the cave only nicer. It looked like what she always imagined the inside of a castle would look like. Large tapestries covered parts of the walls giving it a warmer touch along with the gold and black pillow she was laying on.

      Her attention returned to Kyou noticing he had not moved a muscle. Again the remembrance of her earlier thought came back to haunt her… ‘He’s just as dangerous as Hyakuhei. How could someone so beautiful be so evil?’ The darkness of the room made his aura seem to glow disturbingly brighter as if mocking her thoughts.

      Again, the same feeling of knots in her stomach returned just like in the dream. Closing her eyes tightly, she fisted her hands on the pillow and prayed this was just another dream… that she would wake up back at the maiden statue and Toya would be standing over her yelling about her stupidity for coming back in the middle of the night. When her eyes slid open she swallowed fearfully, comprehending that this was very real.

      When he actually spoke, it startled her so much that she flinched at the melancholy voice. Her emerald eyes widened at the reaction knowing she’d just messed up again by showing him fear… this was not good.

      "I will not hurt you… if you behave." Kyou stared blankly into her eyes waiting for her reaction to his words. He then smirked inwardly when she glared at him. `Good.' He thought to himself. She was not going to scream in fear of him… not at least while she was still so angry.

      Kyoko glared daggers at him as she remembered what he had done… and right there in front of Toya of all people. How could he have done such a thing? Lifting her chin Kyoko hissed, "And what makes you think I would ever behave myself?"

      Kyou nearly lost himself when the demand flew from her pink lips. By the gods, she was determined to defy him to the very end. Despite his initial dislike of her, she had to know it was not his desire to end her existence. If that were the case, she would have died at his hands upon their first meeting. Her

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