Path of Thorns by Ravyn

Chapter Two

Kenshin woke slowly, cushioned in warmth and the boneless sort of relaxation he never managed on his own. Contentment made his wary of fully waking to deal with the half-madness he couldn’t quite escape from. Even now, half-snatches of thought and instinct were floating through the back of his mind; whatever he was becoming, it was all sharp angles and molten heat. But for once it was responsible for the liquid contentment in his muscles instead of exhaustion and pain.

Mornings were never this peaceful and without the sharp edge of his temper to clear his mind immediately upon returning to wariness, he was unwilling to move. Soaking up the warmth of his bed, he admitted to himself how very trying the past few weeks had been. The sudden pause in aggression was heaven-sent. His frustration was knife sharp and centered on his blue-eyed gardener.

Kaoru.

He was surprised that he had managed to wake up comfortable and in bed. It was the first since she had started working for him. The creature that crouched in his soul was only content near her and he found himself coming into a vague awareness in the window seal of his bedroom more mornings than not.

Usually, he was content to sit and listen to the roses whisper to him about her. Her location, what she was doing… it was both soothing and arousing to feel her through the flowers as she worked in the most precious part of his home. He could almost hear the tone in her voice as she spoke nonsense, scolding and laughing in turn. Even the never ending burn on her nose made him want her. He wanted to feel that body as it laughed against him, wanted to press his tongue against the smooth skin of her throat.

Taste the residue of his magic against her skin.

He was inviting trouble by even considering such actions. She did not know, could not know what she was getting into. Gritting his teeth, he took a deep, calming breath and paused.
Two scents mingled strongly in the back of his throat. Jasmine. Rose. Jasmine was the scent of a freshly washed Kaoru who had not yet started her day. While he had instructed Tae to replace the soap in her bedroom with her preferred scent… there was no reason for it linger on his own bed linen. Heart hammering in his chest, he opened his eyes and pushed himself onto one elbow.
Kaoru was sleeping soundly, head tilted towards him, lips parted for air. From the looks of it, he had slept with his nose pressed against the hollow of her shoulder and neck.

How had he slept at all, pressed into every curve of her body? Taking yet another calming breath, he ignored the sudden demands of his body. He would not stay; she did not know… she was not ready.

But he couldn’t seem to stop the way his hand moved without permission to stroke the hair away from her smooth cheek. The skin was lightly tanned and warm under his fingers. Attracted by the warmth of his palm, she turned her face into his touch. Heat and longing burst through his blood and with it came the memories of the night before. Of the taste of her skin under his tongue; the world sharpened and deepened until he pushed the unrelenting wildness back, breathing raggedly.

Not now. No. Kaoru. He could not afford to wake her. Carefully, he disentangled himself from where he had wrapped himself around her, one warm inch at a time. He tucked her back into the blankets with shaking hands before stepping away, air constricting in his lungs.

He couldn’t take his eyes away from her – wrapped in blankets, hair mussed, body warm and lonely – until he bumped into the door.

He struggled not to run. To pace deliberately down the hall, forcing his muscles to work naturally, humanly, as he could; his jerky movements cost him at least one bruise as he misjudged at least one door frame. It wasn’t until he reached the back staircase, until he was outside in the damp humid air that he lost what control he still had.

He strained his awareness to the roses, to the smooth stone under his feet as he moved silently through his home. When it ended, he found himself sweat soaked and crouched near a single rose bush, hidden carefully in a disguised alcove. Magic pulsed here and it tugged at him.

Some of the hunger eased and he could breathe again.

How soon would it be before he could no longer resist his basic instincts? When his control snapped, he would take everything. He clung to the hope that when it snapped, when the lines of protective magic he could still taste faintly at the back of his throat ended that his people could get her out.

It was a small, useless hope, because when that day came he would remove any obstacle in his path and he would have one drive.

Kaoru.

X

Kaoru woke up to an unexpected draft. Shivering, she pressed herself as far under the covers as she could, wiggling around in an attempt to find that lovely pocket of warmth that had kept her warm all night. Groaning in protest when all she found were her ginger scented sheets, she curled into a ball and stared blankly in the darkness.

She wasn’t sure what reminded her. A noise, a scent, the invading cool air. But in one sharp breath she was sitting up, starring around the pale light of the room, and having a hard time filling her lungs with air. She reached for her neck with one hand and fisted the other in the large shirt she was wearing. Her eyes scanned the sheets and a single strand of long, red hair was caught on her pillow.

She stared at it for several seconds, not comprehending and then she moved.

It took precious seconds to unravel herself from the blankets and another few to locate her shoes. She had no idea what time it was – there was just enough light to see by through the windows. Opening her door, she looked around the dark hall nervously.

If he wasn’t in her room he was somewhere else and she did not want to see him. For her a moment she told herself that she had to be wrong, that red hair could have come from anywhere… but her gut told her differently. Firmly pushing the feeling of unease that was forming a knot in her stomach away, she set her jaw and moved forward. The front door was unlocked, but that wasn’t surprising since the front pathway was gated. For a moment, Kaoru had no idea how she was going to get through the gate and then squashed the fear. First problem was getting to her bike, and then she would worry about the gate. Then she’d damn well climb it and sprint home if she had to.

She found her bike where she always parked it. Someone had even been nice enough to wash it for her. The borrowed clothing was a little baggy, but easy enough to peddle in and good insulation against the early morning damp. She hasn’t dared try to track down her work clothes. Not with that itch forming behind her shoulder blades and that unfamiliar buzz against the back of her skull.

She was shivering almost violently by the time she skidded to a stop in front of the gate. She desperately wished she knew what she was doing and bit down on her bottom lip to keep from exploding with tension as she tried to find a way to get it to open. ‘Please, please, please open.’

The small hairs on her arms lifted as something seemed to move in the air and then the gate was creaking open. Her knuckles were white along the handlebars but she hardly waited for the gate to open wide enough before she was moving down the path as fast as she could force her legs to take her.

The gates opened by themselves just as her work shed cleaned itself and tools put themselves back where they belonged. There was something wrong with this mansion. Misao would have called it magic.

If it had been Himura who had invaded her bed… she didn’t want to think about it. Forcing her mind to match the rhythm of her bike, she concentrated on getting home.
By the time she made it home, she was shaking. She made it as far as her living room before her knees buckled and she pressed her face to the carpet, breathing in deeply as she struggled with her shock. He hadn’t hurt her, but he could have. She wouldn’t have been able to stop him. Even with her training… He had… he hadn’t … but he had… and the mansion…

She lay there, curled around herself until her muscles cramped with the strain. She finally forced herself to move and forced herself to walk and not crawl into the kitchen. Bracing herself on the counter, she wished for something warm to drink and settled for milk. Standing there, in the safety of her kitchen, she finally felt centered enough to think.

What exactly had happened? Men – normal, sane men – didn’t growl or purr or… or…. act more animal than human. She ruthlessly stomped on her way her insides rolled. Instead, she slide down her counter, ignoring the way handles bit in her spine. The only obvious reason why she was so frightened now and not last night was magic. The fact that he had used magic against her left her feeling sick. She hadn’t been prepared for that.

She should have. She should have asked Misao to find her some sort of protection spell after the first time the shed cleaned itself. The first time she had sensed something was off. She should have followed her gut and bolted after she had woken up in the mansion with nothing more than a fuzzy memory the night before. Misao would have come for her if she had just called…

She couldn’t blame magic for everything but she was starting to wonder if the homey, welcoming feeling was also a part of it. Maybe Misao was right. Maybe they were vampires or organ harvesters… whatever they were, something was wrong with Himura.

She didn’t know how long she sat on the floor, watching sunlight move across the wood floors. There was a vague unease that he would try to find her, but she shook it off. He would already be here if he intended on coming, to hunt her. So what did that mean? Did he expect her to go back? Tension coiled in her muscles at the thought.

What was she going to do about her job?

‘Think, Kamiya.’

Her first gut reaction was to call and say she quit. Did she dare return to the mansion? Tae and Yahiko and Sano… probably knew. Whatever Himura was… they had to know. Relief and betrayal fought for control and she sighed, rubbing her face. She wasn’t sure she wanted these answers.

The sound of someone knocking on her door caught her attention. Frowning, she levered herself to her feet, wincing as her knees cracked. She was half tempted to grab her bokken and take it with her but finally made her way across the living area to the front door.

‘For once, let it be Misao.’

Peering through the keyhole, she blinked at the sight of a tall woman she hadn’t seen before. There was something about the stress lines around her mouth and eyes that put Kaoru strangely at ease. Opening the door, she met the brown eyes that narrowed with something Kaoru couldn’t name.

“Yes?”

She finally sighed, her eyes shutting for a moment before they opened again.

“My name is Megumi. I think we need to talk.”

Kaoru frowned at her. “Talk?”

A faint smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, but it seemed to be self depreciating. “I’m the reason Himura is the way he is… and I think you need to know why.”

Her first thought was she had been right. Her gut twisted and knotting at the confirmation of her fears that Himura was the one who… and she almost slammed the door shut on the woman and her answers. But the exhaustion and strain on the Megumi’s face made her hesitate. Finally, she swallowed down her instinctive panic and opened the door.

“Come in.”

The next ten minutes were very strange. Megumi took over her kitchen and Kaoru found herself slowly eating a tuna sandwich while they waited for the tea to finish heating. Even with her very obvious movements, Megumi’s eyes never stopped moving around the room, lingering on the occasional knick knack.

Finally, Kaoru felt she had spent enough time being looked over.

“Who are you?”

Megumi sat down; fingers curled around a mug of hot tea and considered that.

“Currently? I’m a doctor. I find that it suits me well enough.”

Kaoru frowned at her. “Isn’t that what you do?”

Those dark eyes looked amused. “Do you just teach kendo, Kaoru?”

Point.

Megumi sighed. “Getting into a debate of what we do in comparison to what we are isn’t going to answer your questions. So we’ll save this discussion for some other time.”

Kaoru tensed.

Her eyes roamed her features. “He didn’t hurt you.”

She licked her dry lips. “No, he didn’t hurt me.”

“I’m glad. It would have hurt him if he had.”

“I don’t understand.”

“No… and even after all this time I find I am still limited in what I may tell you.” Megumi sighed heavily. “I am sorry that he frightened you but you must understand… he… your fear will hurt him worse than your anger.”

“I… what do you mean?”

Megumi took a deep breath. “What has been done to him is my fault.”

“Done to him?”

She continued on as if she had not heard her question and her smile was bitter. “I did what I could to limit the damage, but I can feel my spells unraveling. Her magic was always stronger than she liked us to believe and I am wearing thin. Perhaps if we had managed… but that is a different story all together.”

Kaoru gave her a frustrated look. “You’re speaking in riddles.”

“I walk a dangerous line even giving you this much information.” Now she looked frustrated and her mouth thinned. “You must understand he… we have such little hope left. The price I paid for what time we have is high… but his, theirs is higher. … I am not sure any of us could survive if we lost all hope. That is what you are, Kaoru Kamiya. Hope.”

“Why are you telling me this? Who are ‘they’? What price?”

Megumi lifted her chin and took a deep breath. “I don’t believe he will hurt you, but what I think is unimportant. It is what you believe. So I will tell you this: Ke – Himura will never intentionally harm you. It may be that he has no choice someday, but it will destroy him when it comes to that.”

“Kenshin,” Kaoru challenged. “His name is Kenshin.”

The self-proclaimed doctor flinched. “Do not use his name! Already too much attention has been drawn to us and she will be watching you closely from now on!”

Kaoru fisted her hands. “You’re acting as if I am going back.”

“I wish I could tell you that you won’t, that here in this home that feels of honor and blood that you will be safe… but that would be a disservice to us both. Those grounds do not give up what is theirs lightly and magic clings to you like a second skin.”

Kaoru frowned. “I teach kendo and occasional take care of roses. Magic has no room in my life.”

The doctor’s expression was scornful. “Do you think that magic cares? The mansion and its occupants influence everything that goes on in this town. Everything. You have just been closer than most.”

“I don’t…”

Megumi pinned her with her eyes. “I bet you’ve even seen it. Little things… colors out of the corner of your eye, things being moved or cleaned without the signs of human hands… the roses are very responsive to you, aren’t they?”

Kaoru stared at her.

“Do you know why there is so little magic that reacts outside of the mansion? In any other city like this it would be wild and untamed and destroy everything in its path. This town sits on a nexus, Kaoru. A node, if you must. And that node is bound closely to the Himura blood line and they guard its power jealously. That is why everyone here is safe to live their lives.”

“But what… ”

“Magic doesn’t let you go. I failed in my duty to the Himura family and I am responsible for this but it won’t let me go and it won’t let you go. And that… that was more than I should have said.”

Kaoru bit back her questions.

“You need to understand, but you can’t and I have stayed to long. You can’t afford to have me drawing any more attention to you, yet.”

“Yet?”

But Megumi stood and set down her tea.

“Thank you for your time, Kaoru.”

She strode to the door but she paused before she walked through.

“Kenshin Himura is the most honorable man I have ever met. He will try to let you go and he will fail. You must forgive him for that because there are parts of him that no longer know honor or even care for it. Those wild parts of his soul have buried themselves deep into the grounds of that mansion and that is part of him that will not let you go. Running will not change that.”
Kaoru watched the door shut, shivering at the weight in the woman’s words.

X

Tae slid the door open carefully, wary of what she would find on the other side.

The screams last night had been terrible. She trembled a little at the memory and pressed a hand to her chest. He was in so much pain and all she could, all any of them could do, was huddle somewhere safe so that he was free to express his rage with no fear of harming them. Shinomori’s careful protections provided them a barrier from his rage but it had been a living creature last night.

The beast was unhappy without her.

Yahiko had reported, pale face and grim lipped, that he was asleep in the garden around dawn. She hadn’t dared venture down yet to see. Instead, she had made her way up the stairs and into his personal sanctuary. The man would be remorseful and it was best to remove what signs she could from the night before.

Glass glittering across the floor in sunbursts in the morning light; claw marks dragged along the cream of the walls and he completely destroyed the paintings that had been on his walls. Even the furniture had been damaged. The couch had bit deeply into one wall where he had thrown it. The gouges to her right matched the depth of picture frames that were now shattered.

He was so very angry that he had frightened her. Tae wasn’t sure how he knew, the voice message that had been left had been quick but the tones had been even. Her request for some time off had been granted… what else could they do? She knew that Kaoru would return whether she wished it or not… even now the garden bent its magic towards her. Perhaps that was how he knew her reaction. The garden had wrapped her tightly in its protective magic… and if her emotional reaction had been strong enough the flowers would know.

Swallowing heavily to push back the tears, she adjusted her skirts so not to pick up the fine slivers of glass and slowly began putting the room back to rights. Mending magic wasn’t difficult, but it required precision. With her fluctuating emotions – there was blood on the walls on several of the heavy shards of glass – it took more stops and starts than she was used to and she felt a headache building behind her eyes before she had completed half the room. The glass was the most important problem and she worked to fit the pieces back together perfectly. When he was taken by such a violent mood, he was known to strip himself bare and to fling himself into the garden. There was never a scratch from the roses, but glass could cut deep.

A soft gasp turned her attention to the doorway. A pale, trembling Tsubame stood in the doorway, her eyes very dark.

“Come, Tsubame. There is nothing we can do. Help me finish before his return.” She sighed heavily. “I am not as young as I look anymore and this is more difficult than I originally thought.”

Swallowing the girl did as she asked, taking over the glass work, letting Tae begin smoothing the walls. She allowed her brain to blur and thoughts of Kaoru and how frightened she must be disappeared under the strain of precision.

X

Kaoru stared at the floorboards of her dojo. No matter how hard she had tried, she hadn’t been able to shake Megumi’s words. She had ignored her phone and only checked her phone message the one time.

The message from Tae –filled with soft understanding – had almost undone her carefully maintained control. She was operating on some sort of strange, paid vacation but there had been no suggestion that had been fired or was expected to quit.

She had unplugged the machine after that.

It certainly didn’t help that she hadn’t been sleeping. Reaching up, she kneaded her forehead. When she didn’t nod off from exhaustion, she dreamed in golds and yellows in a dark room. She woke up cold and never managed to return to sleep, regardless of the time. Her lips twisted bitterly. Whether or not it was her imagination brought on by Megumi’s words… but it felt as if the mansion was trying to draw her back to its Master.

She was running out of the strength to stay away. It wasn’t just the dreams. Sometimes, when she was tending the flowers in her mother’s garden, she caught that strange, peculiar buzzing that seemed to crawl under her skin. Except… she could almost make out what patterns the sounds were making now; for a moment she could almost ‘hear’ something.

What she needed was answers. Just thinking about stepping onto the mansions grounds made her palms sweat. No… it was time to talk to Misao.

X

“So she was right about Himura guarding a nexus?” Kaoru questioned, picking at the toppings on a slice of pizza. She never understood Misao’s cravings when it came to toppings, but had learned over the years it was just better to take off what she didn’t want than to deal with a pouting Misao.

“Hmm, it appears so. Although it took me forever to dig out that information; you would not believe the paper trail they have created to protect themselves! However, they clearly did not expect someone of my ninja-like skills to manage to crack their diabolical code. Silly mage professors… although we are both extremely lucky that the nearest Sorcery Campus is only a few hours away and my acting skills are superior!”

“You forged your aunt’s signature again didn’t you?”

“What’s the point of having an aunt who is a Dean of Witchery if you cannot use her signature to gain access to books?”

“Did you find anything useful?”

“Information on a node/nexus thingamabob was easy enough to come by, if you were happy with the basic run of the mill information.”

“Which you are not.”

“Which I am totally so not; while those articles were clearly written by brilliant men with too many thesaurus on hand and some weird appreciation of mazes; I am so awesome, I managed.” She rolled a can of root beer between her fingers, a half-eaten piece of pizza next to her.

“So?”

“Basically? The short and easy version is that a node or nexus is a sinkhole for excesses energy. There are these lines that are drawn to it and provide energy and what not. There were some complicated mathematical diagrams to show how the size correlates to the territory it drains, but I’m totally not taking that class as part of any major study. Anyway, human, plant, animal… anything that creates energy really, is sucked into this giant vacuum and when it comes back out through those lines, it’s magic. Sex seems to be a popular form of magic making, actually… anyway, I asked an aunt about it and she gave me a look that I translated as ‘you’re not a mage, don’t ask those questions.’ I’ll raid her bookshelf this weekend.”

Kaoru licked suddenly dry lips. “Did you find anything about Himura being a mage?”

“That’s tricky.”

“Why?”

“Besides that there is no pure definition of mage beyond “magic user” and then category? From what I can understand, the guardians of sinkhole-things aren’t exactly ‘mages’ by the true sense of the word. They have partners who are true mages, but they aren’t. I haven’t been able to find the importance of that connection yet… Anyway, apparently, someone who guards a nexus would control what is basically translated as ‘raw’ magic that sort of collects around the nexus, but is too thick to actually be processed… or at least, that’s how I read it. So the guardian of the node has to do something else with the magic or it just keeps building up. My gut says that would be bad, but by that time my eyes were starting to cross so…” she shrugged and picked up her pizza, taking another large bite.

Kaoru frowned. “What categories?”

“Kaoru!” Misao looked hurt. “You should know some of them by now.”
Kaoru gave her a tight lipped look and Misao sighed.

“Your mother’s clear lack of… it depends on one’s affinity for magic. THAT you should know. People who lean towards chaos, who lean towards divinity, who lean towards a really fan-tab-u-lous green thumb…. Mages.” Misao shrugged. “Heck, you’ve been tested, you know the drill.”

“Why tricky?”

“Eh?”

“Why is Himura tricky?”

“’cause there was no proof that he is the ‘guardian’; while I didn’t expect that information to be lying around, there was nothing. Not even a hint. I did manage to learn that the guardianship isn’t necessarily something that you are born with, but it has to be freely given over to another. But that’s it… one sentence in a million pages.”

Kaoru shoved the rest of the pizza away. “What does it mean, then, if something were to happen to Himura? Assuming that he is a guardian.”

Misao swallowed. “You mean like this curse people keep dancing around?”

Kaoru nodded.

“I don’t know. There are hints that the transferring of power from one family to another can be… nasty. It’s been done, but not so well…”

“We’re assuming that’s what whoever did this wants control of the nexus,” Kaoru pointed out, her teeth biting down nervously on her lip. “What do you think?”

Misao shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know, Kaoru. The only place to know for sure…”

“Is at the mansion,” she set her jaw. “What if they didn’t want the nexus for themselves? What if they just wanted… Himura to go nuts?”

“That sounds like a bad idea. Really bad. Just on principle… yeah, that’s like… bad. I don’t think you should go back to the mansion until we know one way or another.” Misao tilted her head back and stared at the ceiling. “At least not without some sort of protection… something that Megumi said worries me.”

“What?”

“She said that the mansion doesn’t let go.” Misao sighed. “That worries me. That sounds like old magic, sentient type magic… the kind that people aren’t suppose to be able to do anymore. I casually mentioned it to a different aunt and was given an entirely different look. I think I’ll avoid her for a few days. But my point is, how do we know that what Megumi said is right?”

Kaoru picked at her remaining slice of pizza.

Misao took a deep breath. “You said you thought the garden was way to away, almost… sentient?”

“Yes.” She sighed and lifted her eyes. “It… it absorbs things. Voices, echos… it seems to always be paying attention although I can’t explain how and there are these… half-noises.”

“Half-noises?”

“It’s a constant buzzing in the back of my mind. I can’t explain it.”

“That’s… interesting.”

“Why?”

“Don’t have a clue, honestly. I gotta find me a mage boy toy and get some answers.”

“That’s not very comforting.”

Misao flopped onto her back. “Of course, if something does happen, I’m going to have to risk myself to seduce said boy toy to get you out, because I am amazing like that. Putting my body on the line for you, my friend; you just don’t know how lucky you are.”

Kaoru threw a pillow at her, still laughing.

X

“They’re dying again. There always fucking dying.”

Sano lifted his head and studied the angry teenager. Yahiko was covered in dirt and sweat but he didn’t seem to notice as he stared at the flower beds, hands fisted at his sides.

“Yup.”

Yahiko rounded on him. “That’s all you have to say?”

Sano shrugged. “It ain’t gonna change just ‘cause I said it.”

“She’s gone!”

Sano sighed. He knew this had to do more than the flowers. “Yes. And she’s not going to come back until she’s ready. Can you blame her?”

Yahiko’s knuckles turned white. “He scared her.”

“Yup. Can’t say I blame him either. Having her that close has to be torture.”

He turned away, shoulders slumping. “What if…”

“Isn’t going to change a thing… either she figures it out and saves our hides or she doesn’t. We all made our choices, are you regretting that now?”

“No… I just… dammit, I don’t want to be stuck like this forever.”

“You’re not, kid. Although I do sympathize with your problems with Tsubame; being stuck as a teenager is its own sort of hell. Well, like I said either jou-chan figures it out or… well, she doesn’t. But she’ll be back.”

“Both of them will.”

“Yeah… that’s going to be a problem. ‘Course, that’s not our problem. Jou-chan is. So keep that in mind next time you wake me up from my well earned nap.”

X

“You’re still not sleeping.”

Kaoru cracked one eye open and stared at Misao. She was wearing a brightly colored shirt and her feet were bare. Blinking against the afternoon light, she tried to clear away the light doze she had fallen into on her front porch.

“Did you forget your shoes?”

“No. Not really.”

Right… next question, “I didn’t expect to see you here today.”

Misao sighed heavily. “I’m not having any luck seducing me that boy toy with mage-like abilities. So I came to a decision… and seeing those raccoon like circles under your eyes is just verifying what I think we need to do.”

“We?”

“Most certainly. I made you a ward.”

Kaoru shot up, starring at her. “You can’t do magic.”

“Well Kaoru, can’t do magic well. There is a complete difference.”

“You’re going to turn me into a toad or something…”

“Kaoru! I cannot believe you said that! I would never turn you into a toad! On purpose!”
“You’re aunts rather forcible told you to never touch magic again after second grade when you exploded the bathroom.”

Misao waved a hand. “I haven’t. Mostly. And that was completely not my fault. If I remember correctly – which I most assuredly do – you failed to warn me about the spider.”

“What do you mean ‘mostly’?”

“Well, while I was doing all this research for you I thought I would do some research for me.”

The pit of Karou’s stomach dropped. “Misao…”

“Anyway, my magic has settled a little and I thought I would give it a shot. And it worked.”

“What worked?”

Misao settled herself onto the porch and grinned. “My ward. I made you one. And it works.”

Kaoru stared suspiciously at her. “You’ve never been able to make a ward before.”

“Yes, but I did this time.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. Her smile was bright. “The aunt who caught me about had an aneurism, but it works and that’s the important part because you need to sleep. Not that this will help you sleep, in fact it’s meant to do the exact opposite so…”

“Wait. What?”

Misao waved the piece of paper. “You didn’t want to go back because Himura used his funky date-rape magic on you and you didn’t freak out when he decided to snuggle. This should prevent him from being able to do that again, although I can’t promise that it will completely save you from his magical advances, but it will make it more difficult on him.”

“How long will it work?”

“I have… no idea. But it will work for now, which is the important part and I can make you another one later if I have to. Although that one gave me quite a headache.”

Kaoru stared at it. “Will it work on just the… what he did?”

“About that… I have no idea. Should work for most minor spells in theory… well, again, let’s just call this an experiment and go from there.” Misao smiled brightly. “But the good news is now you can go back and get some sleep.”

Kaoru stared at her blankly.

“You. Work flowers. Flowers let you sleep?”

“So you think it’s the flowers?”

“How should I know? I was just making an analogy or whatever. The point is, we can at least send you back knowing your protected and you can figure out what’s going on, end it and make Himura so happy he gives a sizeable donation to the dojo so you can quite working there and live happily ever after beating the hell out of teenage boys.”

“You’re insane. How much caffeine have you had today?”

“It makes me happy!”

“Did you forget about the snuggling?” Kaoru groused.

“Let’s just wave that one off on whatever funky is going on and call it even.” Misao suggested. “He hasn’t grabbed you, pinned you against a wall and molested you in a dark corner, which according to all my research is the only sure sign that he wants you for your body.”

Kaoru dropped her head into her hands. “You’re wagering my life on romance novels. My life is doomed.”

“The ward works at least!”

X

Kaoru looked around the garden, trying to place her finger on what about it was so different. The flowers were the same – she could almost hear that buzzing and feel the sparks of it against her skin. Frowning, she rubbed her hands up and down her bare arms. She had never felt the garden before… not in those little half-sparks that felt like static electricity.

Her fingers slid into her right pocket and they clenched around material. She paused in mid-step, her body tensing. Why had she left without Misao’s ward? She distinctly remember putting it in the pocket of her work clothes before she had gone to bed, unwilling to risk leaving it behind. Sweat started to build on the back of her neck and she swallowed around a suddenly dry tongue.

Something flickered out of the corner of her eye and she spun around, stance defensive. When she saw nothing except the familiar sway of pale blossoms she went shifted to start walking again when she noticed something dark dripping down the pale petals. Frowning, she moved closer. Whatever it was thick and seemed to be oozing… and it seemed to be coming from the flower itself. Reaching out, she hesitantly touched it with the tip of her forefinger and hissed when it was warm.

It took her a moment to place the scent and she jerked her hand back.

Her eyes scanned the rest of the immediately noticeable flowers and she took several hasty steps back when she realized that all the flowers looked the same.

The garden was bleeding.

Kaoru wasn’t sure what happened next but she suddenly found herself rushing through the hidden mazes, mulch crunching wetly under her feet. Thick, red liquid covered her arms and chest and ran down her legs but she kept pushing through, unable to stop.

She didn’t know how she had gotten there but her heart was pounding in her throat and her side had a stitch from too much running. Gasping for air, she tried to get her legs to stop moving. Laughter – feminine and filled with such triumph – chased her.

But they wouldn’t.

‘This is a dream, this is a dream. Wake up. Wake up. WAKE UP.’

She skidded across the floor and found herself facing a shadowed area of the garden she had never seen before. In front of her was a crushed rose plant and bending over it was a man. He was completely naked except for his long, bright hair and when his eyes met hers she screamed.

Kaoru crashed into the floor hard of her bedroom, having rolled herself off the bed. She stayed there until she caught her breath, shivering on the hard floor. Damn. Slowly she sat up and reached for the light, feeling a little better once she could see.

That… had been different. None of the dreams before this had been in the garden. The rest had been in the mansion, in that stupid chair in front of the fire. This…

Her eyes lowered to the hand that had touched the rose bloom. Her skin was very white in the moonlight except for one, long smear against her forefinger. Staggering to her feet, she rubbed her hand against her shorts and lurched to where she had left the ward. Fishing through pockets, she pulled it out, clenching it tightly between her fingers.

It was warm to the touch.

It was a long time before she convinced herself to head back to bed and she was still staring at her hand when the light slowly started to filter through the windows.

X

Kaoru was uncertain if she was hiding in her car or just collecting her nerves. It had been near ten minutes since she had parked and she hadn’t moved beyond turning the engine off. The heat of the ward in her pocket left her feeling a little more comfortable, but not much. Knowing her current luck, it was going to catch her pants on fire or explode. That mixed with the heat inside the car would have cooked her if the day had been any hotter. Sighing and armed with the knowledge that Misao knew where she was, that the ward just might work and if all else failed her friend would rally her ridiculous number of mage aunts to come to the rescue, she slid out into the blessedly cooler air.

She had arrived early enough to avoid almost everyone even with her ten minute pep talk. There was no sign of Sano or Yahiko. The weight of her packed lunch bumbled against her hip as she headed to the shed nearest the roses she wanted to explore. She didn’t want to face Tae or anyone over lunch.

And she wanted to stay as far away from the office windows of one Himura; at least until she was certain the ward would work… and even then she was most certainly not prepared to deal with him. Well, she was… but she wasn’t sure a man who growled like a wolf was going to take being beaten to death by a bokken well. The thought cheered her up though. And if he did try anything, she would try her hand at quitting.

So that really solved all her problems as long as Himura kept himself as far away from her as possible. Because even with the ward and Misao’s energetic assurances, something was lurking in the back of her mind that said this was not a good idea. Except she had realized just how much she still needed the money after paying this month’s bills. She could have easily picked up a job somewhere else, but if Megumi had been telling her the truth…

‘Not that you can necessarily believe what strange women proclaiming themselves to be mages when they aren’t doctors tell you.’

Except for the dreams.

She was trying very hard not to think of the bleeding garden or what that had meant. Or those eyes… She was tired enough to know that she was going to go crazy if she didn’t get a full eight hours of sleep soon. So she was back at the mansion and trying to figure out exactly where to start after being gone a week. Running her fingers through her bangs, she finally shrugged and trudged into the garden. Before the… incident, she had managed to find time to take a small cutting from the plant on the alcove. After being by itself for a week, it was doubtful that it had survived but she wanted to check before forgetting about it. Filling a pale with some mulch, a small bag of fertilizer and a water bottle she headed into the edges of the garden.

It had taken her some debating to decide where she should plant the little cutting. Finally she had decided on a cluster of white and pale peach roses that had almost been tossed together as an afterthought. The dark red of the cutting would round the little area out.

After she had taken her cutting from the rose plant, it had taken only a few days for the roots to appear when it should have taken weeks, another sign of magic. The plant had grown so quickly and been so healthy she had gone ahead and planted it early with the intention of keeping a very careful eye on it.

Ducking under a hedge, she slipped through the maze-like paths to the secluded spot. She wanted to see how her little experiment was progressing. Conveniently, it also kept her well out of sight of the mansion.

Still, the odds had been against the little plant but to her surprise, the little cutting was flourishing. Frowning a little at the green steam that had apparently managed to put on growth, she set about gently tending to it. She really didn’t want to think of all the ways that it was defying natural law with its apparent growth. Satisfied when she was finished that the small plant would continue to grow, she stretched her back and went to work on the other flowers.

By the time lunch came around she was hip deep in mulch again. Just as she was deciding on hunting down her sandwich, a voice broke into the silence of the garden.

“So you’re the new garden-girl.”

Kaoru wiped her hands on her shorts as she stood. The feminine voice was a surprise, but not necessarily an unwelcome one. Today was hot and the endless half-noise that had started once she had checked on the cutting that morning was starting to drive her crazy. It wasn’t until she was facing the expensively dressed woman that she remembered that it was a Wednesday and there wasn’t supposed to be visitors.

This woman in her pale white dress who seemed to be immune to heat and sweat sparked a warning along her nerves. Something about the artificialness of her perfection; her face was smooth and while the shape of her eyes were interesting, the dark red was unnerving. She seemed to know it as well, because the edges of her mouth had pulled slightly upwards, as if she was savoring something no one else knew.

“Yes, I work here.” She didn’t feel comfortable volunteering even that much information. There was a curious blankness to those stunning eyes.

“How do you like it?” she questioned, reaching out to touch a bloom with a perfectly painted nail, her smile cool. Kaoru internally cringed at the motion and frowned at her gut reaction to ask her to leave.

“Fine… can I help you with something?”

“He will kill you.” The woman said suddenly, gently as she leaned closer to the flowers. Those dark red eyes swung in her direction. “That’s what he does… what he has become; a monster that feeds on human fear. He’ll lull you into a sense of safety and then he kills you. If you’re lucky, he might feed your remains to his precious rose beds. Roses have a reputation of being bloodthirsty. I’m sure you knew that.”

Kaoru couldn’t hide the shiver that ran down her spine and winced at the satisfied expression on the red-eyed woman’s face. How did she know about Himura? Her stomach tightened painfully. Megumi had referred to a ‘she’…

“You should run,” the woman said suddenly, turning lightly away from her. “His control is thin now… I can feel it. He will lose…” her words died as she moved further into the garden.

The urge to move forward, to grasp this woman who knew too much by the arm and demand she leave had Kaoru’s feet moving before she stopped herself. What exactly could she do? The few times she had run into Saitoh she had not left on great terms with the irritating man. Instead she reached up to the touch the flower the woman had touch and shuddered at the spark that raced across her hand.

Who was that woman?

Biting her bottom lip, she tried to analyze her feelings. Shaking her head, she decided that the best bet was to get over her unease about the mansion and let someone know that the woman was here. There was something… off about her and the half-buzzing noise in her head had risen to painful levels.

Kaoru felt the change before she ever heard it. Then that half-buzz exploding against her brain the same time the very air seemed to scream, to shatter under some pressure that she could just begin to feel. She had just managed to take one step forward when the earth started to shake. Crying out, she stumbled hard to her knees. Wind tore at her hair and weight pressed down on her shoulders and back and the air was suddenly too thick to breathe. She sucked in air through her lips and struggled against the internal wrenching that seemed to be concentrated behind her navel…

And then it was gone. Somehow she had fallen and her nose was pressed deeply into a pile of mulch. It took several moments for her to work up the energy to lift herself, her muscles having turned to mush. The unnatural stillness was shattered by the sound of someone screaming. The high, rushing sound changed as she listened, rising in octave until it once again became that endless, bone shilling howl that no human vocal cord could have made.

Then familiar, haunting laughter filled the air. Kaoru froze. It was the laughter from her nightmares. Her mouth ran dry and she was more frightened of that sound than the screaming howl.

A branch snapping had her jerking to her feet and skidding away from a tall man with frozen eyes who she had never seen before except perhaps as a shadow out of the corner of her eye. His bearing somehow managed to convey great fury without moving a single muscle.

“Whatever happens, do not run.”

The deep growl that came from her left had every muscle in her body tensing.

The unexplainable terror that she had been struggling against since the night he crawled into her bed welled in her chest and tried to suffocate her. Biting her lip, Kaoru clenched her fists behind her back as she slowly turned to face him. The ward in her pocket felt like a small, burning sun.
“Miss Kamiya, you must not run.”

“Let the girl flee, Shinomori, that way her death will take longer.” The feminine, triumphant voice cut into the air like glass. “There is nowhere she can hide now. I havewon. The protective spell is broken and it is as it should be. You and your pet healer have failed, Shinomori!”

Kaoru made the mistake at looking at the sky. No longer was it blue, but a swirling mass of blacks and reds, with jagged streaks of lightening crashing against it. Her lips parted and the hand wrapped around her lungs tightened. Her eyes lowered against her will to the woman.

“You overstep yourself, Yukishiro.”

“Do I?” Her lips curled into a sharp smile. “Look at him and his pathetic attempt to hold himself together. My spells have waited a long time for this. You will die and everything will fade and then the node will belong to me. I have won.”

Kaoru wanted to look away from the woman, to ask what was happening, why the sky had changed and why the air was so thick she could swallow it. But something inside her had frozen with her words and it wasn’t until the low, snarling growl from Himura that she could pull her attention away.

She still couldn’t see him.

Shinomori shifted his weight forward just as something brushed against her ear.

‘Run away, garden-girl.’

Something crackled along Kaoru’s skin and the world blurred a little at the edges. When she finally managed to find herself, her body had already moved and she was racing through the garden. Panic caught her and she struggled to stop but it was as if her legs had a mind of their own.

Frantically, she moved her eyes and she realized with surprise she had somehow made it into the center of the flower garden. She skidded on a slick spot and her teeth sunk into her bottom lip painfully. Mentally cursing, because now she was leaving a blood trail, she tried to turn her body towards the mansion in the hopes of getting some help.

Before she could, whatever had been driving her legs forward suddenly disappeared and she staggered to her knees hard. She noticed the sudden lack of burning heat against her thigh and hoped that it was because the ward had worked and not because it had failed. Relief flooded through her just as a low, angry snarl had her scrambling to her feet again and she twisted around to find Himura crouched on all fours, just watching her.

He was barefoot and missing his shirt. What had once been immaculate dress pants were torn to his knees, giving him a wild look that was only accented by the lack of humanity in his eyes. They glowed with the colors of melted bronze and tracked her movements with pin prick pupils.

She took one; careful step backwards and the low vibrating growl increased. Determined, she took another, slowly moving away from him. When his eyes flickered over her shoulder she spun around and bolted, tearing down the path. She ducked through one of the small openings in the roses, hoping it would give her the room she needed to maneuver.

She had just enough time to consider how silent he was being when his body crashed into her own. They went down hard and skidded across the thick mulch. She tried to wiggle, twisting violently in an attempt to get leverage but he used his weight to press her into the ground until she stopped struggling. His hot breath washed over the back of her neck and she coughed and gagged as he rolled her onto her back.

Giving one last attempt to knock him away, she was quickly subdued, his fingers biting into the skin at her wrists as his chest pressed against her own. Looking up into his wild eyes she froze, terrified to look away, her heart hammering in her chest; the ward in her pocket was cold now. Hot yellow dominated his pupils and her world narrowed to her panicked, gasping breaths and his eyes.

X

Aoshi could do nothing when Himura gave chase to the Kamiya-girl. She would live or die by Himura’s choice now. However, this witch was someone he could deal with. He could feel the tattered edges of magic that had once been protection spells and the rest of the magical runes were degrading quickly.

He had very little time. Yukishiro’s spells were settling into place and once they solidified he would have no control over the magic in the mansion.

“It is too late for you, Shinomori. Any attack you try will fail.”

He kept his expression calm. “Is that so?”

She gave a soft laugh. “He will kill her. His control is gone and the animal demands fresh blood. She will not live through the hour.” The edge of her mouth curled. “You know it as well as I or you would have already left to aid that pathetic little human girl.”

“You underestimate them both.”

Tomoe gave an artful shrug. “Even if somehow he managed to retain some of his sanity, do you think I would leave anything to chance? Over the next month everything here will fade as if it never existed.”

Aoshi didn’t dare reach for his offensive spells. Clenching his fist, he moved forward. Magic wasn’t his only strength.

Tomoe lifted her hand. “Good bye.”

“I do not believe we are finished.”

She just smiled.

…and was gone.

X

Kaoru could only stare up at him as he bent forward. Visions of him lunging for her throat and sinking his teeth into a vein had her squeezing her eyes shut. She couldn’t quite stop the way she was trembling and he had her completely pinned.

The warm, careful brush of his tongue against her chin snapped her eyes wide open. She found herself staring at red bangs as he repeated the motion. She swallowed hard when he reached her busted lip and slowly licked the broken skin. Her fingers flexed in his hold but he ignored her movements.

Any thought process she had broke down when he settled his mouth over the cut, sucking with just enough pressure that the world blurred faintly at the edges. Her skin warmed under his mouth and she shifted in faint alarm. His entire body vibrated with his warning and she stilled, heart hammering in her chest. She breathed deeply through her nose and tried not to panic. When he pulled back, his eyes were still sun-yellow, and they studied her lip before he seemed satisfied.

He didn’t let go of her hands.

Carefully, she flicked her tongue out against her lip. Her eyes widened when she realized that the cut was gone. The edge of his mouth curled in one corner and there was something satisfied yet starving in his gaze as he continued to watch her.

It was making it difficult to breathe.

“Please let me up.”

His expression didn’t alter and for the first time she was able to study the sharp line of his cheek bones, the thin press of his lips and she swallowed. He settled his weight a little firmer along her lower body and she glared at him.

“Get off me.”

He leaned down and flicked his tongue against her chin and she snarled.

“I don’t think so! You chased me you… you….” She struggled to find the words and settled for in articulate snarling. If she was mad she wasn’t frightened and if she wasn’t frightened then there was still a chance that this was a nightmare.

The familiar male voice of the tall, thin man cut into their starring match.

“Himura.”

The man-beast’s entire body tensed and he bared his teeth at whoever was standing behind him. There was a long pause as he seemed to realize she was struggling to break his hold.

“She would perhaps be more comfortable in the mansion where we could get a look at her bruises. Yukishiro may have planted more than one spell on her.”

Kaoru’s entire body vibrated with his growl as he considered his words before he moved off of her. Her relief was short-lived as he reached down and casually tossed her over shoulder before moving towards the mansion. The breath in her lungs exploded out and she gasped for air, curling her fingers into his hair and yanking.

He didn’t seem to notice. Looking up, she caught sight of the man who had told her not run, watching her with eyes she couldn’t read before he disappeared behind the roses.

X

“You’ll have to take care of her cuts, Kenshin.”

Kaoru risked raising her eyes to stare in disbelief at Tae. Kenshin had set her down with more care than he had picked her up, but her teeth were still rattling around in her skull. And he was watching her with those unblinking, inhuman eyes. Now that the adrenaline had worn off her skin felt itchy and her knees and palms ached; she wanted to find a dark corner and just breathe.

And Tae wanted the… the… whatever the hell Himura was to tend to her cuts?

Tae averted her eyes so Kaoru lowered hers back down to deal with the… Himura who was crouched down in front of her, sun-yellow eyes watching her every move; like some starving animal… he didn’t seem to notice that he was in torn clothing, that his hair was a tangled mess of rose petals and mulch. Or that his current arrangement of limbs should have been impossible for anyone with a spine.

She could handle that. There was clearly – obviously, dangerously – mage work here. It was the way his fingers kept reaching for her ankle that she disapproved of. She had already kicked him once but that had only seemed to amuse him.

“I apologize for him, Kaoru.”

“You’re encouraging him!” Kaoru hissed, not daring to look away from Himura again. “How apologetic can you be?”

Tae met her eyes firmly. “Call him by his name, it will help.”

“Will help what?” Kaoru demanded, pushing herself into more… defensive position. She reached for Tae, ignoring Kenshin’s snarl of protest and froze when her hand went through the older woman like it wasn’t even there.

Tae wrung her hands together and sighed. “I’m afraid that the magic has moved much quicker than it should have since it was bottled up for so long. Megumi warned us of that… I think. But it’s been so long and…”

“My hand… went right though you.” Kaoru said from numb lips.

“Yes dear…. Kenshin, you’re going to have to help clean her wounds and check her for spells. I can’t touch her.”

Hot breath ghosted over the bare skin of her knee but she didn’t think much of it until something warm and wet rasped over the bruised skin.

Kaoru shot up and backwards until she was standing in the chair, ignoring the disapproving looks Tae was giving her as she glared down at the redhead below.

“He licked me!”

Himura’s lips curled a little at the edges and his body shifted, fingers moving along his knees as he watched her. The bottom of her stomach dropped to her toes and she swallowed.
Tae cleared her throat. “It will help.”

This time she couldn’t help but lift her eyes to the other woman. “Letting him lick me is suppose to help?”

She sounded vaguely hysterical to her own ears and took several deep, shuddering breaths.
Tae folded her hands together primly. “Yes.”

“How?”

Before she could answer, Himura rumbled something from deep in his throat and Tae hesitate before bowing and moving out of the room. Kaoru stared at her in shock. She just left?

The sound of claws again wood jerked her eyes back down. Her gaze went straight to his hands, but she couldn’t see anything other than his nails – which were surprisingly short. Swallowing, she inched back as far into the chair as she could without compromising its balance.

This didn’t seem to bother Himura at all and he moved into a more upright position with a liquid grace that only cats had ever before achieved. Shifting her weight backwards, she wondered if looking away to find a candle stick or something equally long and heavy would be a bad idea.

His eyes lowered to her feet and slowly slid up her body, lingering on her knees, hands and mouth before his eyes returned to hers. The heat there had her shifting her weight and her eyes rounded when she managed to finally overbalance the chair. Squeezing her eyes shut, she gurgled out noise that she hadn’t heard from herself before; however, instead of hitting the floor painfully – the chair had most certainly landed – she found herself dangling in Himura’s arms.

Cracking one eye open, she swallowed at the way he was starring down at her. This close, she could make out the wheat gold that streaked the dark bronze of his eyes.

And she couldn’t look away.

The sounded sound of a door opening had Himura shifting his eyes away from hers and she followed his gaze. The long, thin man from the garden was standing there, trench coat unbutton to show off dark slacks and a shirt.

“I apologize.” Cold eyes studied her. “She feels of foreign magic.”

Kaoru held herself perfectly still. The grip Himura had on her was firm but the angle of his jaw was making her heart pound painfully in her chest. Those yellow eyes finally moved away from the man in the doorway and lowered to somewhere along her throat.

She squeezed her eyes shut and she tried not to think about why he was starring at her pulse. Swallowing in the hopes of returning the moisture to her mouth, she took suck air in through her nose.

“My ward.”

The hands along her back shifted until his arm had slid under her knees and her neck was braced with one long fingered hand. Panic was hammering at her insides until her lungs felt tight.

“You have a ward?”

Himura didn’t move once his nose settled by her ear and she concentrated on breathing. He was making this warm, rumbling noise in his chest and she opened her eyes to stare a little desperately at the man in front of her. Cold blue eyes held little emotion and she tensed at the almost threat she could sense from him.

Himura snarled and she shuddered.

“You’re frightening her.”

Teeth moved against her jaw and she thought for a moment she was going to throw up when the muscles against her spine shifted and she found her feet touching the floor. She hovered there, balanced against his arm, half cradled against his chest – and then he simply shifted away.

Not far enough to make her feel safe but she was breathing evenly again.

“Your ward.”

Kaoru shifted her weight, testing her ability to move. Himura didn’t move an inch but the air felt heavier and she decided to wait on bolting.

“Yes. I have one.” Two could play with this game but she wasn’t sure she had the energy to deal with him and figure out why Himura was watching her with those eyes. Or why he hadn’t eaten her. She wasn’t going to think about licking, no matter how her knees burned.

“Kamiya.”

She shifted her eyes over, taking care to keep Himura in her peripheral vision. “You honestly didn’t expect me to come back here after… anyway, yes. I have a ward. No, I didn’t make it. Why?”

“I would like to see it.”

“I would like a name.” Kaoru returned. Himura rolled his shoulders, the movement somehow threatening and she shifted her weight off her heels.

“Shinomori Aoshi.”

Kaoru wearily eyed him again. The backwards saying of his name meant he wasn’t from around here. He was moving closer and she frowned at his sharp, well defined features.

“The ward?”

For a moment, she hesitated. How much could she trust him? Except… he had tried to help, in the garden, even if his instructions sucked. Moving her hand slowly – Himura was a predator no matter what everyone else thought – she reached into her pocket and offered him the still warm ward before she thought. His fingers closed around it before she remembered that he couldn’t and she stared down at his hand in surprise.

Shinomori rolled it between his fingers, a line forming between his brows as she studied something she obviously couldn’t see.

“This is well made.”

“Is it?”

Himura prowled forward on his hands, body close enough to feel when he finally stopped. Every muscle in her body tensed as what felt like claws dragged through her ponytail.

“I’d like to study this…”

Kaoru held out her hand. “I’d like it back.”

Shinomori stared at her, but Kaoru was finished being intimidated. Kenshin started to growl and Shinomori handed it back silently.

Curling her fingers around the paper and feeling a little better, she shifted her body away from Himura. Swallowing, she finally worked up enough courage to ask the one question she needed the answer to most.

“What… what is going on?”

Shinomori stared down at her, his face curiously devoid of any expression.

“We are disappearing.”

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