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Spectre	By : Sugah Category: Digimon > General Views: 1627 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon: Digital Monsters, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 3
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~Warning/Disclaimer~
The characters of digimon aren�t mine; I just use them shamelessly. There will be Yaoi. Sex. Shameless boy boy lurrrrrrve.

Yiru, his abilities, the Mancer-abilities, the glyph system E�taihl�that, however IS mine. I could go on�but it�d bore you. ^_^ I know what I�ve got, I know what I�ve not, so there. :D

This chapter is rated a little more dark, not as dark as previous, although it�s creepy�^_~ Thanks and much much love go out to Beta! *snugs*

~Spectre~
:: Adapt into the odds ::

Waking came with a painful forced reluctance that he couldn�t seem to shake. The sensation of disbelief, of dreaming, coursed through him. He was in a bed, that much he knew�but with his senses muddled it was too easy to imagine that he was home, in his tiny cluttered apartment.

What a weird dream was a quiet rational thought in his mind. He had flashes of falling up through the water, into the sky and beyond, of the fleeting touch of fingers and a furious voice, the coldness of nothing coming near. A boy�s voice, one he knew and couldn�t place.

No, that wasn�t true�it was his voice�the boy upon the cliff. The boy whose heart sang in rending sorrow behind his smile.

Eyes of a vibrant shade between blue and dusky purple entered his mind as nothing mohan han a memory, but it was enough to stir his mind into waking, to slip past the reluctance and thin oin of his battered body, past the scrapes and irritating sand.

Hadn�t he been on a beach? With rocks and seaweed and half-choked?

Hadn�t there been something�different�with the mirror?

Doesn�t matter, he thought vaguely, disappointed and relieved all at once. I�m sleeping� He shifted on the bed, hearing it creak, and thought he was safe at home, dreaming strange dreams. That he was�

�not in my bed. It was too lumpy, too small and the sheets were scratchy and smelled stale.

And those weren�t the smells of paint and summer-wind�it was a light herbal scent that cleared his head with every inhalation, chasing away the refusal to wake up.

Incense?

Daisuke cracked open an eye and peered out to see fuzzy indistinct shapes, staring at whatever it was. Awake, he was more aware of the grit against his skin and his dry stiff shirt. He was, he realized, laying on his stomach and that the indistinct shape he was trying to comprehend was a rumpled and stained pillow. His hair was in his eyes, and he smelled sour choking sweat, and his mouth was foully thick.

�okay�he thought, unable to move just yet, and felt a stirring of panic flutter through his heart. Where am I? Why isn�t this my bed? He pulled in a rough breath, coughing at the strain, and swallowed dryly. �it wasn�t a dream�

He struggled to turn over, feeling the muscles in his back stretch and protest. Poised on his side, he looked around. The room was a single cluttered area composed of gray weather-stained wood and a black sticky-looking substance. Thick pitted supports laced the ceiling, with woven twigs as an actual roof. He could see straw poking out in bits and pieces. Bundles of some fragrant herb swayed from the support beams.

Turning his head, Daisuke looked past the wooden frame of his wooden bed. The room was messy and constricting, lit by a sullen fire in the far corner. Tightly-packed dirt composed the floor. Various objects were piled up against the wall, netting and wood and leather cords jumbled together, while furs and small twisted firewood rested by the hearth. Craning his neck, he could just see the bits of gleaming metal on a small crooked table.

Where the hell am I?

Daisuke fell onto his back with a grunt, and pushed himself up on elbows. �Hello?� he rasped. He considering trying to get up, or at least getting his feet on the floor.

A shudder in the far corner of the room that resolved itself into a shaking lump of blankets caught his eye. There was a coughing noise, faint and careful breathing. It shook, as Daisuke stared half frozen with shock and apprehension, and it moved.

'/~

The Kaizer was aware of the moment Yiru stepped into the room. It was as if the air had shifted, grown somehow heavier, and a peculiar silence overcame his senses. The boy didn�t turn his head from the position at the window, and he closed his mind tight as Yiru�s miniscule tendrils of power wove themselves through the air. It took little effort to block his attempts at coercion after so many years, but it didn�t mean the threat wasn�t there.

He couldn�t help but wonder with an icy dread if Yiru was aware of it, and allowed his meaningless rebellion out of amusement.

I shouldn�t dare think otherwise, a part of him scolded. Everything is a game to him.

�Is the view so entrancing, sweet?� a voice murmured close behind his ear. Close enough to touch, if so desired.

The Kaizer didn�t reply.

�Are you still upset over that insignificant event within the Atrium?� Yiru questioned, sliding around to the left. He leaned against the window, peering from under the fall of his pale hair at the emotionless face of the human, glancing just in time to see the flicker of unease in the pretty violet eyes.

�I don�t�understand what happened,� the Kaizer responded without looking in the demon�s direction. His gaze fell to the line of sculpted trees outside, the tiny forms of the servants along the paths. He whispered, hesitant, �There was no way it could have awoken, no way��

�Oh, I inspected the Mirror thoroughly and it�s as if the Mirror had never woken. Its voice is as silent as ever�and this worries me,� Yiru confided lazily, sighing. �It would be most helpful if your research could find out just why this is, yes?�

The Kaizer nodded, more in relief and flicked a glance out of the corner of his eyes in the demon�s direction. �Truly,� he mused in agreement, but didn�t say any more.

Always quiet, always calm. Never show me your true face, and never let me close. Are these your rules, little sweet one? Yiru thought, hiding his smile behind his fingers. You think to outlast me in this game?

We shall see. �Come,� Yiru said easily, straightening from the sill and tugging heedlessly on the garments the boy covered himself in. Narrow violet eyes peered at him from beneath the spiky bangs and a muscle twitched in the corner of his mouth. Yiru smiled thinly. �We have things to accomplish yet��

'/~

From beneath the robes and skins a gaunt old man appeared, shrugging upward in a precautious manner. His skin was a nut-brown color, seamed with countless wrinkles. Wispy gray hair hung over his ears, and earth-dark eyes peered sharply in suspicion. It was the only expression on his haggard face.

�Uh, hi?� Daisuke ventured.

The old man cleared his throat and adjusted his patched clothing into order. �Up, are you?� he said, voice raspy and oddly lilting.

Daisuke ignored the growing twinges of pain from holding his position. �Uh, yeah. Where am I and who are you?�

The old man mumbled, twitching fingers and pressed a hand across his chin as he watched, his expression queerly flat. �I�m called Kahl, and you�re in my home. I pulled you from the sands like a beached fish.� There was a mild flash of curiosity across his face and then an equally small frown. �How did you end up there?�

Daisuke frowned back. �I fell�� he began. �I don�t know�it�s�� he let out a breath. �It�s really true, isn�t it�I�m really here.�

There was a hostile glare in his dark eyes when the old man spoke next. �Where�ve you come from, stranger? You don�t fit in to the world as I know it��

�My name�s Daisuke�and I don�t think I am from here,� Daisuke replied truthfully. The words felt heavy on his tongue and he fell back to the bed with a grimace, too tired to keep up the half-risen position. �Oh, man�I can�t believe this�� he whispered to himself.

�Are you demon?� Kahl asked bluntly.

What the�demon? the redhead twisted his head and scowled. �Um, no, I don�t think so, geezer. As far as I know I�m human. I�m here to stop a demon, not be one myself.�

The old man had yet to show some sign of expression other than the slight hostile suspicion. Daisuke was beginning to doubt the old man knew how to smile. He smoothed his hands at the blanket, itching at the sand still caught in his clothing.

�Look, old man,� Daisuke said. �I�m not sure how I got here. Not sure what I have to do here. I�m looking for someone�he�s my age. His name is Ken�you wouldn�t know him, would you?�

Kahl shrugged, picking with spindly fingers at the bunched furs around his knees. �I know of no one by that name, boy. I live alone. You�ll have to take your questions to the city for that.�

�Okay,� Daisuke pushed himself back up onto his elbows. �Just point me in the right direction��

The old man gave an impatient sigh, and shuffled out of his furs to give him grudging help in sitting up.

�You shouldn�t move,� he chided. �You�ll get sick and then where would you be?�

�Probably not here,� Daisuke hunched. �But I figured the sooner�ow!� he yelped, twisting and stretching fingers to his side where something dug sharply into his skin. �Ow-owow-ow�What the hell?�

There was a sliver of something hard and cold to his touch, embedded in his skin and pricking at his groping fingers. Daisuke hissed in pain, drops of blood making his fingers slip. He pinched it between fingertip and thumb despite the sting and tugged it out.

Staring at it in confusion, Daisuke couldn�t recognize it. Silver glinted from beneath the blood and it tingled in his hand.

What�what is this?

�Ah, a charm of yours?� Kahl murmured. His grip hadn�t loosened in Daisuke�s frantic dive to relieve the pain, arms all wiry and immobile behind his shoulders. Daisuke glanced at him, balancing on his own when the old man finally did move away, his bony fingers raising to hover just around the curling silver without touching.

�I don�t know what it is,� Daisuke admitted.

�It has the scent of magic,� Kahl whispered with the peculiar frown and half-hesitant look behind his wispy hair. He made an absent humming noise, and his hands twisted Daisuke�s wrists to better see. �Charms often do. But this�you would do well to keep it close.�

Daisuke frowned at the twisting shape, examining it closely. Magic? he thought. This thing?

Kahl let him go abruptly, standing and shuffling a few steps away. The ropes holding up the ticking of the bed creaked in protest when Daisuke bent a knee to keep his balance, turning the blood-stained curl of silver in his fingers.

The old man bent over the wooden table, poking and turning the small objects there. Then, selecting something, he came back and held out a small woven band of leather about eight inches long with small metal beads woven along the length. Without warning the old man reached out with a hand to steady Daisuke�s grip.

�Hold,� the old man commanded, and twisted the cord until the leather gaped, slipped it over the silver and twisted it, winding the silver within the leather in deft movements.

He doesn�t want to touch it, Daisuke noticed, making sure to hold the metal still while it was woven into the cord. It glinted like a dull diamond among the brown of the leather, the contrast of the beads. Why won�t he touch it?

Kahl took the ends of the leather cord and pulled it up, straightening it and twisting, the metal woven like a flattened s-curve with the sharp ends hidden for safety�s sake. It glittered, a bloody tinge to its shine as it spun slightly between the fingers.

Before Daisuke could stop him the bracelet was fastened around his wrist. It tingled as it rested there, loose and sliding against his skin, but Daisuke merely turned his hand over, shivg.
g.

It�s really mine, now.

�You are a weird old geezer,� the redhead remarked, touching with fingertips but didn�t think of removing it. It didn�t look that bad, and it did make him feel better�

I wonder what it came from�

Kahl made an absent-minded noise, drawing away again in a tired, irritated manner, as if the events had worn him out. He fussed with the objects on the table for a while, glancing at him cautiously as he traced fingers on some half-hidden object. �You have no possessions?� he asked quietly. �No clothes, no food or money?�

Tilting his wrist so the leather slid back and forth, Daisuke half-shrugged. �Not really. I was�in a rush and forgot stuff�.�

I didn�t even plan to be here, a part of him pointed out. Remember? I went to get a sweater, not pack for a fieldtrip.

�Why�d you ask?� Daisuke said after a moment, looking up and pushing away the thoughts of his room, his bed and blanket and instant-cup food.

�You truly be a stranger,� Kahl said softly, warily, and sighed. Then he gingerly picked up the object he had been touching, something flattish and wrapped in an oily leather skin. �I found this with you, on the sands, half-buried. I�could not touch it,� he said, hushed. The fear was stronger in his eyes, tracing down to his face until it went pale. �Like your charm. I dare not touch this.�

Then he dropped it in Daisuke�s lap, and moved away, averting his eyes.

For a while he only looked at it curiously, the strange cold-damp feeling spreading through his legs, as if the object itself was made of ice.

I think I know what this is, a quiet resolute voice said.

Daisuke pulled back a corner of the wrap and revealed a smoother dry leather, scrolled and edged with silver. The journal, he thought. So it came with me too. He ran a finger against the exposed section and sighed. �It is mine,� he said after a moment. �Thank you. I think I�ll need it.�

Kahl didn�t seem to be paying him attention, but Daisuke caught the glitter of his eyes from beneath the hair. �It is very strong,� the old man whispered. �It is�dangerous.�

Daisuke smiled faintly. �You have no idea.� He slipped the wrap back into place, covering it and somehow feeling the cold subside. �It�s safe enough for now, though...�

The old man glanced back at him, suddenly startled, and avoided his gaze. Something like fear, like awe, passed through his eyes. After a long pause he remarked, �You should not make such odd faces�it only shows you to be a stranger, boy. People are afraid of such things��

Daisuke let the smile fall from his face and stared at him, confused and his attention pulled from the confusing problem of the journal, its possibilities and thought, Demonic�faces? But I only smiled!

There�s more going on that I know, he thought. Probably more than I want to know. He shut his mouth, jaw tight, and carefully didn�t question anything further. He slipped the journal under the makeshift pillow of the bed. Without warning, the old man placed a shallow bowl of thick brown broth in his hands. Daisuke nodded a thanks, reminded all to well of how hungry he was. Sipping, he watched out of the corner of his eye, and tried to think, his heart thumping.

This is really happening, the words crystallized within his mind, dropping like stones. This�it�s really happening, and there�s really a demon, and everyone is all messed up�

Daisuke set the half-empty bowl on his legs, and closed his eyes. �Dammit,� he whispered more to himself. �I�m so screwed��

'/~

The gray marble floor was icy frozen stone through the soles of his soft leather boots, the air around him breathtaking cold. It was coldest where his palm was pressed against the grain of the wooden door, cold enough to burn if he would let it.

A line of blue iridescence sparked into view, starting several inches above his thumb. It curled itself into a scrolling mark, crossing beneath his palm and spreading like frost.

��ii�lyn en�sr en Cat�he,�(1) the Kaizer spoke in drawling exactness. As he let the words slip free he pulled his hand down and traced a fingertip across the lines in a complicated motion. A countering golden shimmer followed his hand, misting after his words and lacing the air.

A shutter-click series of sounds and a subsonic hum vibrated the tips of his fingers; the Kaizer tilted his head and watched the sigil-mark fade with clinical detachment.

The door was sealed, the hall a blistering numbing cold, and the Kaizer straightened, ignoring the temperature. He eyed the door with more than his sight, sliding his awareness down the wards to make sure that the power wasn�t to strong, and that the sigils were hidden to the normal sight. He knew Yiru was perfectly aware of his little wards, of his penchant to set up a guard on the inner chamber. He knew Yiru allowed this, because the Kaizer had never done anything threatening.

No, these wards were to watch, to guard, to open only to Yiru or the Kaizer�s touch�and also to warn. When these marks were broken, the Kaizer would know. He would know the moment Yiru left this room and walked the halls again.

It�s a good alarm system, Ken thought, whisper quiet, from the depths of the shadows. Even if Yiru knows, if he removes them, I�ll still know. It doesn�t matter if he knows of them�

The Kaizer brushed back his tousled hair, lips a thin line. Quiet, the shadow warned. I am not done.

There was a flash of subtle warmth, of amusement and thready nervousness, but the hidden Ken didn�t speak.

The Kaizer turned, the cold around him crackling with imagined frost and ice, even through there wasn�t a speck of it to be seen, and strode down the wide hall. The single flame of the sconce ahead of him sputtered and spat a few sparks, but he passed it by. He didn�t need the simple light to see.

Two turns of the hall later he faced a bare and dirty section of the wall in the less-traveled area. He raised his hand again and touched the hint of a glyph to the grain of the hidden door, and pushed it open. It revealed a small chamber with gray-toned furniture and melted candles, clean but spare. It was the only room adjoining his sleeping chambers, small and cozy and secluded.

But he never assumed that Yiru was ignorant of this place, just as he never assumed Yiru would let him live; he could only be somewhat grateful for the momentary peace it allowed him, always on edge and trying to be careful.

The Kaizer stepped inside, absently scanning the room for hidden tricks and glyphs, and shut the door.

The room was silent after the locking click, lukewarm and thick with stale dry air.

Alright, the Kaizer thought and gave way. Illusion faded with a spark of fitful light, dustmotes stirring in the eddy of falling power. Within all of this, Ken shivered as the world reaffirmed itself, his outfit still the tight and concealing fabric of the Kaizer, yet his form and expression more bared. His skin was pale, face drawn as he brushed aside the now-straight hair with hands that trembled.

�Alright,� he echoed.

He sank to the floor with his back pressed against the wooden door, reflexively hiding his hand in his sleeves and ducking his face behind the falling hair and let out a sight that caught in his throat.

Ken wrapped his left arm over his head and rested his forehead onto his upright knees, drew in a whistling breath. �Alright,� he whispered again. �Okay�okay okay okay okay��

Abruptly he shook, shivering in fine tremors, and exhaled. �I�m so tired. I want to sleep.�

You have some time, the Kaizer returned slowly.

Ken nodded and pushed the sensation of the other away, gently, back into the shadows of his mind. �A day,� he told himself. �I�ve got a day or so.�

He pushed his forehead into the silky fabric, clutching and covering his head, breathing light and shallow. A day at most, a day.

A day. Ken peeked out over his knees, at the barred door on the western side. The door that led to his chambers, hidden behind a tapestry. Closed, still closed, and he knew that it had to stay closed. He didn�t want to go through just yet.

Ken let his arm fall away from his head, rubbing the skin on his forehead. A day.

Better use it well.

Ken pushed away his overwhelming hysteria, his desperate need to hide with an ease that was beginning to convert to automatic. Pushed away the worry and pulled himself to standing, moved past the small divan still covered with a dustsheet, past the small chair to a corner half-hidden behind an elegant scrolled-vine candle stand.

A touch ensured that the stand was still in place, and the warded compartment was still intact underneath. He sighed, then, not bothering to undo the spell. There was no residual trace of Yiru�s distinctive sickly-sweet spellwork, nothing to indicate there had been even minor tampering. No dust was misplaced, no smeared fingerprints�everything seemed in order.

He relaxed to a small degree, brushing a finger against a cobweb hanging from a cast-metal leaf and stood back.

It�s all I have left, he thought quietly.

He exhaled, slowly, and faced the etched wooden door to the west, sliding a long metal key from his belt. One hand to unlock the bar of this side, while the key�which could lock either bar�would undo the opposite side. He inserted it, turning it as the metal warmed under his touch.

�Dyen�vae,�(2) he whispered.

The door creaked, something within the mechanism sounding a �ting� so high it almost hurt to hear it. Ken pulled the door open, slipping his key back into his belt and stepped through, one arm extended to keep the tapestry away from his face. The door clunked back into its locked state behind him.

There was no one within his private room. He sighed, and pushed the red and gold tapestry aside. He glanced across the nearly empty room, past the unused bed and the thick carpet of rich blues and browns and golds, past the gleaming table he had converted into a desk by shoving it against the wall many years ago. A neat pile of papers lay under a pold lud lump of translucent crystal, while sharpened quills and thin wooden sticks that served as drawing implements were perched within a wooden bowl. A ragged pile of books and parchments were piled on the opposite corner. His research, his work, everything he had gleaned from the remains of the once-grand library�all of it rested on that table.

Most of it was written down, most of which he knew that Yiru was aware of. Pieces and fragments, however trivial, were stored away in his memory while the actual documents were removed. Small things, isolated things that he wasn�t even sure were important�even though something always whispered to him that they were.

The word Saelin, oddly familiar but he couldn�t identify why he felt so. A symbol of a stylized circle with interweaving barbs�perhaps an elemental symbol. A spell fragment, making little sense other than the word Loc�ayn, the E�tailh word for silver. A partially written account of the significance of silver, although he had several independent theories.

Separate, they were meaningless and useless, puzzle pieces he couldn�t fit together.

Ken loosened the collar of his outfit as he moved through the room, running fingers over the silken surface, across his chest. He trailed the other hand over the low carved backing of a chair, of a column of blue-white marble. He stopped at the polished table and smoothed a finger against the grain.

With a sigh, he sat, pulling the stack of books towards him, the neat script of notes and words on a list to his right, and opened the first leather-bound volume.

Alright, he thought. Okay. I need this day.

I�ll sleep when I�ve found something more �something to keep him satisfied I�m following his plans�something�

'/~

It didn�t take Daisuke very long to discover that any sort of expression was strange to the old man. Kahl himself didn�t smile or react visually to anything�there was never anything stronger than the quiet fear in his eyes. For Daisuke, it was confusing.

It made him wonder.

Two days after he woke up and discovered the reality of this strange place, of the run-down hut and the old man, Daisuke built up enough courage to open the journal.

He didn�t know why he waited until the sun was midway up the sky, or until the always-cold speck of silver on his wrist slipped without warning�he just knew, as he knew this place was someemptempty, that it would be safe enough to look.

And he did, while the oln wan was gone on his mysterious trips to the ocean for his odds and ends, knowing it would take a while for the old man to collect his seaweed, the certain types of shells he needed, fibrous plants and a run through his traplines to check for fish.

Daisuke slipped the journal free of the oily wrapping, noticing that it seemed in perfect condition regardless of the swim in the sea, of the sand that Daisuke was still finding in his clothes. He opened it gingerly, going past the first entries that he had read, past the unfamiliar markings and short explanations�he didn�t know what the words were, really�or the strange symbols.

It was almost like looking into some alien dictionary.

He quickly skimmed through it, looking for anything, any clue, any hidden meaning to answer the questions that he didn�t dare ask Kahl. The demon�where would the demon be? Where would he have to go�and where would the other boy, Ken�where would he be?

He scanned the words, absently taking in a jumbled description of seven different things, something called elementals, and how everyone had a smattering of each�but only children with innate strength in any one elemental would be learned in the education of a mancer. He read a short scrawled phrase on how the land and the children born without were grave and still, almost puppets and empty of life.

The phrase wavered oddly in his mind, as if it was important and lodged in his brain. Quiet and expressionless, empty�

It made sense, Daisuke decided, if there was such a thing as a demon who stole souls. If souls were the only ability of a person to feel something. If there was a demon who fed on souls and emotions and power and everything that a demon was not�.

Shivering, Daisuke shut the journal quietly, wrapping it up and hiding it again. He sat on the bed with his strange trousers and thick linen shirt, no socks and a co cor cord for a belt, and wondered.

It made sense�and he still had no idea how he could do anything against such a creature.

The demon would be in the city, he knew. The c�Orlin city according to the journal; the central city where the source and seat of power rested, where the Circle had guided children and watched over the land and the growth of the people.

The city is where I have to go, he thought. I don�t know how I�m to kill a demon�but I have to get there first�

Now, it�s just how to get there�

'/~

The Kaizer draped himself in a loose robe of black fabric, concealing the simple tunic, dark trousers and slipper-like shoes. The robe trailed on the floor behind him, covering his arms to the backs of his fingers and buttoned high on his neck.

His body ached dully from little sleep and his stomach protested with the stirrings of hunger. It was ignored, shoved aside as he left his chambers with a slip of parchment hidden in his sleeve. The small detail scribed on the paper would perhaps gain him another few days time.

The Kaizer moved in a ground-eating stride, ignoring the half-hidden serfs and passing the occasional noble. It didn�t take him long to turn down the hall that led to the library, to the half-mad Melchai, the useless tomes and scrolls.

The high-vaulted room was dark and musty, laced with shelves and the occasional flickering candle. It was more common to see the pale hovering globes of witchlight around the tables, a harmless spell that Yiru had so �kindly� allowed. It was safer than the candles, effortless, although Ken never quite understood why the creature would bother to have such a trivial detail as being careful when he had been the cause of destruction for many of the tomes within.

The Kaizer slid through the gap of two creaking shelves, winding past a maze of low tables that had no companion chairs, only cushions. He reached the northern wall, turning to walk along the dull cream stone. The library was silent, and within it, he could sense the Mirror�s pull within the Atrium.

No. You can�t. Yiru is�close�

But he could still feel it there, a flicker in his mind.

Like the way Yiru was an icy creeping mist upon his senses.

The Kaizer stopped himself from shuddering, turning his head as he paused near an alcove set under the stairs to the upper levels. Usually, several shelves within held dusty useless parchments on agriculture, herbology and the like. Today, however�

�My Lord,� the Kaizer said dryly.

The demon seated amidst the old scrolls looked up, quirking a smile as his eyes glinted inhumanly. A scrap of p ign ignited suddenly, illuminating his pale face and ice-white hair. �Child,� the demon purred.

The Kaizer raised a brow as the paper burned to ash, but pointedly ignored it. He reached within his sleeve, noting with a twisted thrill the familiar hungry look the demon gave to his exposed wrists, his hands and the hint of his forearms. The Kaizer fought a sly smile, and casually, as he withdrew the piece of paper, shook his arms to cover them again.

The glance to his face was equally hungry, masked behind those feral eyes.

�Here,� he murmured. �Perhaps this is of some importance? I�ve found several documents with this mark�� he extended his hand and offered the parchment.

Without raising the sleeves, Yiru slid his cold fingers around the outstretched wrist, turning it up so the parchment rested on the palm, and traced a finger down the blue line of the vein. �I see,� he drawled.

The Kaizer kept his face impassive, his hand relaxed, as Yiru flipped the paper over and examined the mark. �Do you know what it means, my Lord?�

�Hmm�well�it�s very hard to say. It�s such an old thing, you see, hardly any meaning any more.�

Anymore? As in, it was important once? the Kaizer thought, purple eyes narrowing slightly. �Surely it has some meaning,� he returned quietly.

�Some,� the demon admitted with a cunning glance to his face. The glint in his eyes was dark, mocking, some brooding emotion hiding to far to make out clearly. �But the old symbol of the city is useless, is it not?�

�Ah. I see.�

Perhaps it was some instinct to compete, to show he wasn�t as helpless as Yiru seemed to think, or merely the need for a subtle challenge that had him narrow a gaze at the parchment at the symbol of the barbed circle. He hissed �S�haa.�(3)

The paper ignited, flaming to ash in the space of a heartbeat. The Kaizer met Yiru�s calculating mocking eyes with his own impassive stare. He knew, by the actions the dehad had taken that the parchment wasn�t as worthless as stated, that the symbol meant something�

Too late to turn back now, he thought. Rise to the bait, Yiru. Was it worthless, or was it merely another game?

The ice-haired demon merely watched him, amused and waiting. A game, perhaps. The Kaizer placed an expression of mild boredom and started to move away. As he did, the fingers tightened around his wrist. His heart jumped, and startled to the point of a frown, the Kaizer glanced back.

Yiru smiled wolfishly, pulling the palm to his mouth, and running the tip of his tongue down the center. �Delicious display, sweet,� the demon whispered against his fingers.

Barely stopping himself from gasping, the Kaizer yanked his hand away.

'/~

�Well, why not?�

Kahl didn�t look up from the strands of coarse fiber he was weaving. �Because it is dangerous. You shine with life, boy, and it brings a danger to us all.�

�But I need to get to the city,� Daisuke replied. �I have to find someone.�

�Doesn�t matter; he�s likely dead if he�s one of your kind.�

�He�s not dead,� Daisuke said exasperated. He dug bare feet into the soil, the stone rough and mossy through the leather britches and rolled his eyes. He eyed the crooked form with annoyance; they had gone over this conversation several days before, and he knew how the old man would respond.

�Look,� he said finally, as the wind tugged at the cords of braided threads. �Can you just do it? I won�t cause a scene or stick out or anything, I swear!�

Kahl set the cord within a basket with many others, and selected a set of fibers to begin a new one. His growing pile of the braided rope�each one running about four feet long�were used for minor bindings, as in rails of the rickety fences, or holding frames together�more often than not women bought the cords to weave together into stronger durable loops of rope. Daisuke couldn�t figure out why he needed so many.

The old man spoke, tone harsh and deceptively qui �No �No, boy. I�ve seen enough children die because of their foolishness. You shan�t go.�

Daisuke sighed, debating on falling backward into the ground, and ran hands through his hair. �You don�t understand,� he replied eventually, stubbornly. �I have to go, with or without you. I would rather be with you to keep a low profile until I figure out what to do!� He traced a finger over the bracelet, the silver piece, and felt a tingle jab his fingertip. �I mean, I�m going to need your help, Kahl.�

The old man muttered under his breath. Then, his deft fingers laying aside another cord, he raised his expressionless face to Daisuke. �You,� he said blandly, shooting a glare that hinted at irritation, �are a conniving little bastard. You�ve not enough sense to save your hide. I go to the city in three days to sell my wares�and you�d just sneak off after me. Foolish boy.�

Daisuke grinned, a part of him glad to see the old man merely shake his head and turn back to his work instead of shying away. Daisuke, one; Demon, zip.

'/~

It took them two days to walk to the city, making it roughly a week after Daisuke had found himself falling through an ocean. Both of them carried several bags of sellable items, unguents and salves from local ocean ingredients. Daisuke found himself unable to let the old geezer carry the heaviest sack by himself�even though he knew the man had done it all before�and had the bag slung over his shoulder. He didn�t mind; it was rather refreshing to exert himself and it gave Daisuke a strangely giddy sense of disbelief.

Along the faded path that looked more like a way for animals than people, Daisuke caught glimpses of foreign animals, the wrong shape and size for the categories his mind tried it tit them into. Creatures that resembled cats until he saw the spines and the greenish fur, the two tails and too-large ears. Tiny dog-like mice�or was it mice-like dogs? Plants and earth that seemed a shade too dry, too bare and stretched. Creatures that hid in the tiny bushes, singing sweetly; it made him visualize birds, until he saw a lizard-like thing, bright orange, warble just out of reach. The landscape that fell flat for miles around as they headed south. Looking back Daisuke could see the perpetual storms far to the north, still over the ocean; a ridge of mountains to the east and the grasslands to the west.

Daisuke found it was a faded clinging beauty, seeing glimpses of what the land had been, and what it could be again. He could almost taste the clean air, the earth and water around him. Sleeping, silent, dull�Daisuke didn�t need to try very hard to imagine it all different, better and clean and not so frayed.

He couldn�t bring himself to tell himself subconsciously it was an illusion, a dream. It was too real, and he was really here, and by now he knew there was no going back.

On the second day they came across the shallow valley that was the start of the fields and farms that stretched for mileThe The path they traveled had broadened into something more like a road, flat and dusty and grooved slightly from the occasional cart. When they topped the small rise at the beginning of the fields, he an oan oddly-shaped structure, tall and curving. Daisuke was strongly reminded of the temple gates in his world, although these were vastly different. The gate ahead was made of a dark material, a translucent blackish marble shot with subtle blues and greens.

He wished, cingcing around as much as he dared while they walked, that Kahl would answer his questions about things. Especially the gate; it had to have some meaning.

It stood sentinel to the fields and farms, and as they walked on he noticed the road led directly under the arch. It was creepy. A low stone barrier extended off to either side, clearly marking a boundary even though there was no definition between the land of the city, and just the land.

He shivered when he passed beneath it�but nothing happened. Looking back, he could make out a faded scratched mark a shade lighter at the apex. A word or something he could almost recognize�it was on the tip of his tongue�

Then Kahl whispered a �Hurry up,� and quickened his pace. For an old geezer, Daisuke thought, he sure moves fast.

For several miles more Daisuke noticed the farmlands and small strange crops. One field grew what looked like wheat, only taller�as tall as corn, really�and slightly blue-white in color. People worked the land without noise, without complaint, toiling and pausing only to glance at the passpassing by. It wouldn�t have stood thatthat strange, but not one of the workers spoke or smiled or even made a face in frustration at the work�

Daisuke forced himself not to stare at their emotionless empty faces�he didn�t want to see that close up.

It wasn�t very long before they crested the rise of another hill, and Daisuke could see the second Gate. A shudder went through him at the sight. Ahead the road spun down into the beginnings of the actual city; from the low hill Daisuke could see how far this place ran, how big it was, the sprawled cluttered houses and walls, smoke and birds against the sky. The road ahead held more people in drab cloaks and colors, the farmland people who traveled southward for the same reason they did.

Past the second Gate, though, was a clear boundary between the farmland and the city. Irrigated canals blended into small ram-shackle huts with colorless walls before running out into the land, the source of the water and somewhat listless plantlife.

Welcome to the ghetto, Daisuke thought, eyes slipping back to the gate ahead, his feet slowly carrying him into the dip of the road even though he didn�t quite wto gto go that far.

As they walked endlessly forward, Daisuke gazed past the gate they had yet to pass, past the houses and slums of the second area, at the off-shoots of alleys that led into the city. There were buildings that looked to be half-way decent inns, or taverns, or whatever they called them here; crooked creaking signs on metal pins above their doors. Beyond those he caught a glimpse of other buildings, gleaming cream-colored wood and dark shingles with glinting windows. Buildings that stood out like gleaming marbles dropped in the mud.

Daisuke swallowed, his eyes catching a half-hidden arch that stood just past the area of gray-walled slums, quite a bit ahead of the nice-looking homes�but he couldn�t exactly tell if that third gate signified a different area of the city or not. Number three, he thought.

Ask now, a part of him thought. The silver charm piece sparked cold for a brief moment. Before you go furtherk

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