A Guardian's Possession. Amy Blankenship

demon that was feeding off the power of the sliver of crystal. Pushing Kyoko behind him, Hyakuhei cast a barrier around her so she would be safe while he pretended to fight the demon. It was such a splendid creature and its power was enormous now that it had the talisman within it.

      It may have been a simple shadow demon once upon a time, but now… now it resembled a black dragon. It would be a shame to just kill the beast but he could not take it into his own body and savor its powers in front of Kyoko. She wouldn’t understand and it may trigger the memory that he was indeed the enemy.

      Using his powers over demons, Hyakuhei made quick work of ending its life. Seeing the splinter of crystal fall, he picked it up feeling the small slice of power Kyoko had just unknowingly given to him.

      The corners of his lips turned up as he looked back at Kyoko. Releasing her from the protection barrier, he once again took her in his arms. He knew he was deceiving her into being with him but suddenly he didn’t want it to be a lie. Leaning down toward her to block out the rest of the world, he lowered his lips to hers.

      *****

      Hyakuhei’s growl echoed as he reached out toward the darkness just as the dream ended. The haunting laugh of the dream master was the only thing that greeted him within the cave as he watched the flames from the fire turn several shades of color before the licking flames twisted into a dark shade of black to match his mood.

      How dare the dream tempt him so… making him notice the loneliness.

      Chapter 6 “Deadly Escape”

      Kyoko awoke with a start just as the memories of what had happened came rushing back to her like a confused tidal wave. She could almost swear that she could hear the echo of Hyakuhei’s angry roar as she slipped away from the dream and it gave her cold chills. It was his scream still ringing in her ears leaving her eyes wide with shock.

      The dream had found her again and somehow she knew it was waiting for her to close her eyes once more. Her fingers trailed up to softly touch her lips and something within her wondered if she fell asleep again… if the dream would start out with that same kiss. She wrapped her arms around herself, strangely missing the heat.

      Wondering how long she had been sleeping, she glanced toward the window. From the height of the moon and all the stars she could see it was still the middle of the night but getting closer to dawn with every heartbeat. It was no wonder her mind was trying to make Hyakuhei her savior when her real savior was becoming so dangerous. This was all Kyou’s fault.

      So much had happened in such a short amount of time that she wasn’t surprised she’d cried herself to sleep. Her mind and body wouldn’t let her sleep but only a few minutes at a time till she found a way out of this mess. It was already getting hard to decipher what was reality and what lay only within her own mind.

      â€˜Just who the hell did Kyou think he was?’ Kyoko mentally lashed out as she rose up on her elbows. She needed to get away from this place and him as soon as possible.

      Looking around for something to wear, Kyoko spotted a white silk robe lying on a low table by the large pillow. Her gaze roamed the rest of the room hoping to find something more to wear. She knew the silk of the robe wouldn’t provide her much covering and this was the north for heaven’s sake… She would freeze.

      Blowing her bangs upward in disappointment, she climbed across the pillow and stood reaching for the robe. Slipping it on, she marveled at the silky softness of it against her skin. It was so light it felt as if she hadn’t put anything on. If she hadn’t been a captive here… she might have actually liked this place.

      Tying the silk around her, Kyoko snuck to the window and looked out already planning her escape. The moonlight provided enough light to see by but enough darkness to maybe try to get away.

      Leaning out the window, she looked down the three-story drop in denial. Seeing the deep crevices in the outer rock wall, her lips quirked in a childish smile. She knew after being with Toya for so long that she would be able to climb down. “Hopefully without falling,” she contradicted herself in a whisper.

      She had to run as far away from Kyou as possible before he took something from her that she was not offering.

      Kyoko sighed inwardly as she made a silent wish. ‘Toya… I need you.’ The words seemed to echo within her and somehow she felt maybe… just maybe Toya had heard her. Memories untold seeped through her mind… Toya would never let her fall. Her lips parted in wonder for a moment before she shook the feeling off as imagination.

      She gripped the windowsill to steady her nerves. Straightening her shoulders and finding her courage, she decided she wasn’t holding out for a savior because even she knew Kyou was a force to reckon with. She really didn’t want Toya putting himself in that kind of danger. She also knew the longer she waited, the more of a chance Toya would try to rescue her.

      Kyoko climbed up on the ledge and threw her legs over. Turning around, she slowly felt for footing in the wall. She grimaced when the stone felt like it was cutting into her bare feet, but she would go through anything just to escape.

      As carefully as she could, she made her way down the side of the castle. What took only a few fleeting moments felt like hours. She spent the whole climb fearing being caught, but when her feet finally touched the ground all other thoughts fled except getting as far away as possible.

      Looking up at the window, she backed away from the wall half expecting to see Kyou appear and snatch her up again. She couldn’t go through another one of his ‘punishments’ as he called it.

      That thought spurred her into action. Kyoko turned and ran like Hyakuhei’s demons were after her through the surrounding maze of gardens and statues. Without stopping her headlong rush for freedom, her eyes took everything in, marveling at the surreal beauty of it even within the darkness.

      Only the fear of being found by Kyou kept her going when her lungs started burning and her legs cramped. She was startled when she made it to the end of the grounds only to find a very potent barrier shimmering with a luminous blue hue. She knew it would take all her priestess powers to break through something Kyou himself had made.

      Once more she looked over her shoulder at the imposing structure Kyou called home. There was no doubt in her mind he would know what she was doing if the barrier was brought down. She only needed to make an opening just big enough to let her through.

      Biting her bottom lip, she reached out one shaky hand and touched the surface of the barrier to test its strength and was rewarded with a slight shock wave that passed warningly through her body. It didn’t hurt her… instead; it felt like the barrier was trying to tell her that there was unknown danger on the other side and for her to stay inside where it was safe.

      She smiled in surprise realizing the shield was more for protection than to cause bodily harm… at least from the inside of the barrier. She had no doubt that if someone or something tried to get in from the outside without permission … that’s where the pain would be.

      She gave pause as the dream came back to her… the barrier Hyakuhei had placed around her for protection from the dragon he had fought… it also was only to keep her safe and she had felt safe… strange that she would think so softly toward the enemy.

      â€œI mean no harm… please,” Kyoko whispered as she again touched the barrier. To her amazement, an opening appeared and she quickly stepped through the milky-blue mist just as the shield closed behind her. It had given her exactly what she needed.

      Turning around to see if the barrier had really closed behind her to erase the fact that she had escaped, Kyoko was startled to only find a desolate overgrown forest and no lush grounds or castle anywhere in site. It looked as if gloom and sadness had descended to silence all living within its tangled web of limbs.

      Would Kyou know if someone breached the barrier he had placed around his home? Would some kind of alarm go off to alert him? She felt fear slither across her