скачать книгу бесплатно
Kyoko sighed as she sat down, closing her eyes and relaxing against the tree. Damn it, she was right back in the same position sheâd been avoiding when she took off for her walk. Trying to distract herself, the first thing that entered her mind was Kyou, his glowing golden eyes showing a flicker of emotion. It was the first time sheâd seen him show any emotion besides the expressionless face of boredom he carried or the anger of battle. And he had kissed her.
Why had he kissed her like that? And why hadnât she tried to stop him? It was like sheâd been unable to think, just able to feel. Though she was still very afraid of him, sheâd felt safe at the same time. After all, he was one of her guardians. He wouldnât hurt her⦠would he? It was her first kiss and one sheâd never forget. She glanced over at Toya and caught him staring at her again.
Toya had been watching the emotions flickering across her face and wondered what she was thinking about. She looked like she had a secret and then he noticed the slight blush cross her cheeks and he knew he was right. She was thinking about Kyou! He could hear the growl loud within his head. When she turned to look over at him, he glared at her. He turned and faced the other way, crossing his arms in front and leaving her to stare in confusion at his back.
Kyoko frowned then yelled at him. "Whatâd I do?â He twitched but didnât turn around or answer her. What was he mad about now? Suddenly, a chill went down her spine and her heart began to pound hard against her chest⦠Evil. Raising her face, she closed her eyes and felt darkness coming at them. It was evil all right, and it had a piece of the shattered guardian heart crystal within it.
Toya sensed Kyoko's heartbeat speed up and swung around to look at her. âKyoko, what is it?" His voice was now fueled with concern as he instantly forgot to be mad at her.
"A talisman, very strong and darkly tainted. Itâs moving fast⦠this way," She pointed to the left and they both jumped to their feet and started running in that direction. They hadnât gone far when they heard something crashing through the trees, coming straight towards them.
Toyaâs body was moving on its own accord, his forearms pulsing at his sides as if to draw his attention to the power that lay hidden there. With a flick of his wrist, the fire dagger slid from his flesh and he leapt in front of Kyoko, pushing her behind him with his other hand. He braced himself as the forest in front of them took on a life of its own. The trees and foliage crashed around them as a huge demon thundered towards them.
Kyoko swallowed the lump in her throat as she looked up at the demon. It was about ten times taller than either of them and very nasty looking. She could see the beautiful sky above it and wondered if she would ever get used to the fact that demons lived here. She shrank back when its hideous red eyes locked on her and Toya.
Toya sniffed the air, making a face. The thing smelt like it had been buried and left to rot for way to long before crawling out of its grave. Heâd bet his life Hyakuhei was controlling this thing because he hadnât felt this much power within a demon in a long time.
âAnother one of his fucking spawns," Toya sneered then heard the mocking laughter come from deep in the chest of the demon.
It spoke in a massive deep crackling voice that grated on the nerves. "Kill Toya!" The demon grunted as it lunged forward with a rotting, clawed hand.
With inhuman speed, Toya lifted Kyoko in his arms and jumped out of the way. Landing on a nearby rock that was jutting up from the ground, he instantly wished Kyoko had stayed in the camp and out of harmâs way. His lips were right beside her ear as he asked hastily, "that ugly thing is way to big not to have a talisman. Do you see it?"
She swung her head around to peer hard at the demon but it was moving so fast all she could see was a blur. It jumped and landed right in front of them, knocking Toya to the ground with a bone-jarring thud. Kyoko screamed when it turned back and grabbed her off the rock. Its massive, fleshy hand squeezed the breath from her, stopping her scream instantly.
She put her hands down against the imprisonment, trying to push out of its grip but there was no way. A dark glowing light caught her attention. She was trapped and getting dizzy from the lack of air, so with the last bit of breath she could squeeze out, she shouted. "The talisman⦠Neck!"
Toya saw the demon grab Kyoko, holding her up in the air while she struggled to breathe. He pushed up off the ground feeling the adrenaline rush through his body and into the fire dagger still pulsating in his hand.
"Let her go, you bastard!" He roared, trying to get its attention back on him. "Youâll regret ever touching her," Toya growled as his eyes turned to molten silver.
He slung his other arm out to the side, now holding a dagger in each hand as he taunted the ugly beast. The demon gave a hideous laugh as it held Kyoko up as if to use her as a shield. "Damn!â Toya cursed. He couldnât use the daggers power without hurting Kyoko in the process. The beast wasnât as stupid as he looked. âYou dirty son of aâ¦â Toya growled feeling his blood heat to a dangerous level.
Kyoko tried to get to her crossbow, but the demon had it pinned between her and its palm. The light around her started to fade, warning her that she was passing out. She sought out Toya's form, finding him standing there, facing the demon. She could tell he was in a rage as she heard him curse. His angry silver eyes met hers, and the last thing she saw before passing out was Toya leap into the air as if to come straight at her.
Toya had had enough. How dare that nasty beast touch Kyoko. He felt his cursed demon blood surface, overriding his guardian blood as his anger grew. He leapt into the air and with a swipe of his razor sharp claws; he sliced through the demon's arm. As its arm fell to the ground, Toya boomeranged off the demon and caught Kyoko in midair as she fell from the loose fingers.
Holding her securely against him, Toya jumped out of the way as the demon swung his other hand towards them. He landed hard, taking only a second to make sure Kyoko was once again breathing even though sheâd lost consciousness. He laid her on the ground then swung around. The twin daggers reemerged from his skin, sliding into his palms with ease.
âHow dare you!â Toyaâs voice rose to a dangerous level. In a fury, he rushed the demon, one swipe taking the head clean off. He watched with morbid satisfaction as it landed a good twenty feet from the still twitching body.
Before the dust settled, Toya turned back to Kyoko to check on her, not realizing the demon wasnât dead yet. He hadnât remembered to remove the talisman from its neck and he never saw the huge claws coming at him from behind. Hearing a roar, Toya felt the deadly claws slice into his back and slam him into a nearby rock, knocking the daggers from him.
Kyoko fought the darkness off. Opening her eyes, her vision cleared quickly but the sight that met her made her gasp in horror. Toyaâs blood was spraying the air behind him as he was thrown through the air colliding into a giant rock. Swinging her gaze back to the demon, she watched in dismay as it grabbed its head from the dirt and placed it back where it was supposed to be. The demon turned to her, a rumbling sound came from its chest like a demented growl while baring several rows of sharp teeth.
The smell of Kyoko's fear brought Toya out of his daze and he opened his eyes in a haze of pain. Ignoring the pain, he raised himself up just in time to see the demon charging at her. He could feel his demonic blood surface⦠and this time⦠he let it take over. Toya's body began to hum with a force of its own. The only rational thought left in his mind was that no one was to touch her⦠if they did they died.
Kyoko was reaching for her crossbow but knew she would be too late because the beast was almost on her. So close, she could smell its nasty breath reaching her. She screamed, raising her arm to shield her face, thinking this was the end⦠But nothing happened. She heard a grunt and the ground shook. Kyoko opened her eyes, but couldnât see anything for the debris flying at her from where the demon had fallen, blocking her vision.
As the debris began to clear, she saw the back of Toya as he stood in front of her facing the demon. She hissed seeing three long jagged wounds across his back. His midnight hair and silver highlights were still blowing in the wind created from the fallen demon. She glanced at the demon to see again that its head was severed and its arms were laying a good distance from its body.
She frowned as it again opened its crimson eyes, intending to use the power of the talisman to heal itself. Not wanting that to happen, Kyoko reached behind her and grabbed the small crossbow, a spirit dart quickly forming from her priestess powers. Cocking it tight against the string she whispered, "Hit," releasing the string and sending the spirit dart straight toward the talisman, knocking it from the demonâs body.
The demon slowly crumbled in on itself, turning to dust and catching in the breeze. Most of the dust drifted away, leaving only yellowed bones in its wake. Still feeling evil close by, Kyoko looked up and saw one of Hyakuhei's demonic changelings. It slithered down from the sky looking like a ghostly serpent, picking up the talisman within its pointed teeth before scurrying away so fast she couldnât even tell which direction it had went.
She felt like groaning knowing theyâd just fought the demon for nothing since the talisman was stolen. Kyoko slowly pushed against the ground to stand, stopping midway when she noticed Toya hadnât turned around yet, his clawed hand still curled in anger at his side.
She tensed up realizing what was wrong⦠he was in his cursed form. A curse Hyakuhei had placed on him long before sheâd ever come to this world. In this state, he was unpredictable, out of control⦠and very dangerous.
With an unsteady voice, Kyoko whispered, "Toya?â
She stood up the rest of the way as he turned around, his crimson eyes staring back at her. His chest was still rising and falling rapidly as he breathed heavily from the force of the attack heâd just used to kill the demon. âThe daggers,â Kyoko thought trying to stay calm, âshe needed to get the blades back to him.â She looked toward the rock heâd been thrown against and spotted one of the daggers laying there. She slowly started edging in the direction of the blade.
Toya took a step forward and growled. He felt a blinding rage for the demon heâd just killed and waited to see if there were more to kill or if the demon would get back up. Then he heard someone behind him whisper his name. Turning to the sound, he saw the girl there, slowly trying to stand up. He smelled the fear emanating from her as she slowly tried to edge away from him.
He issued a low growl of warning for her to stay and took a step toward her. She stood still for another moment staring at him as if she couldnât decide if he was friend or foe. He could smell her fear rise and it made him angry. He growled again and she took off running.
Kyoko's heart was pounding. Heâd growled at her. Was he going to kill her? The daggers, she had to reach at least one of them. They were a part of him and helped to seal away the demon blood Hyakuhei had cursed him with. Kyoko took off as fast as sheâd ever run in her life.
She had to get the dagger to him. Her hair flew out behind her and she knew he was coming after her. The hair on the back of her neck stood up as if heâd already caught her. Five more feet⦠just about there. A blur moved in front of her, between her and what she was so desperately trying to reach.
No. She would not run from him. She was his. He stopped in front of her to halt her flight, and she crashed into him with a startled yelp. On contact, he could feel his blood calming and he gave a softer growl to let her know to stay this time. When she still tried to move past him, he crushed her to him, wanting this woman to feel that he would destroy anything that came near her.
He looked down into the wide emerald eyes staring back up at him. Toya could feel her trying to lower herself to slide out of his arms. No, heâd never let her go⦠the demon blood within him had already claimed her. He watched as a tear slipped from her lashes to land on her creamy cheek. He leaned forward and licked the tear with the tip of his tongue, drawing a startled gasp from the girl.
She renewed her struggle, wiggling out of his grasp and slid to the ground, throwing herself past him and grabbing at something lying there. He growled at her defiance as he turned and dropped on her, holding her to the ground. He pinned her wrist above her head and the weight of his body held the rest of her immobile. She tried to throw him off her but he wanted her to know just who she belonged to.
Lowering his mouth to hers, he growled low in his chest. The girl stilled as his lips slashed across hers in a possessive kiss. He forced her lips apart with the pressure and deepened the possession. He wanted her and she would be his. His hands slid up from her wrist to take her fingers in his when he felt his hand come in contact with the thing sheâd grabbed from the ground.
He licked at the inside of her mouth wanting to taste everything that she was. He could feel his thoughts slowly coming back to him, things he should have not forgotten. He calmed, but the kiss didnât. His mind flickered. He could feel the heat in his lower regions and he ground his hips against her in hunger. Then something clicked inside him and the red haze in his mind disappeared.
Toya became aware of everything, the soft body under him, the taste of honey and the blinding need coursing through his veins. As much as he didnât want to, he released her lips from his and raised above her a fraction to stare down into the eyes of Kyoko. He had just been kissing her and really wanted to continue.
Kyoko couldnât help it as fiery lightning bolts shot through her body. She stopped struggling as he deepened the kiss. The feel of his lips dominating hers with such passion was a heady sensation. Then she felt the evidence of his arousal press hard against her thigh and that shot another round of heat through her.
She felt him slowly shift and rise above her as he ended the kiss. What she saw nearly stopped her heart. His eyes were golden, all traces of the demonic bloodlust gone. She glanced toward the dagger she still clutched in her hand and noticed that he was touching it. She sighed with relief realizing Toya was back.
Toya watched Kyoko as she glanced toward the blade and his gaze followed hers. So thatâs what happened. He had changed, and then heâd tried⦠He knew she would be mad at what heâd almost done. Even his out of control side had chosen her as its life mate.
He sat up, trying not to look at her as he rolled off her body. Only after he was completely off her did he trust himself to glance at her. The first thing that caught his attention was her kiss swollen lips. He felt a blush burn his cheeks as he remembered the kiss and the feel of her lips against his.
âSo thatâs what heaven is like,â he silently mused and rubbed his eyes with one hand for no other reason than to hide his reaction from her.
Kyoko turned her face away from him as she slowly stood up. She knew he hadnât meant to kiss her and was probably now regretting it. She located the other blade and handed both the daggers back to him.
Toya also stood up, not saying a word. The silence around them was deafening.
Chapter 2 "Flame of Jealousy"
Kyoko gritted her teeth, the tension between them was almost tangible and it was really starting to unnerve her. Toya sat on a branch in the tree near the fire and Kyoko sat at the fire by herself. They still hadnât said a single word to each other and now he wouldnât even look at her.
She frowned feeling slightly insulted. Was kissing her really so bad?
Toya sat in the tree sulking. Heâd seen her frown. Had him kissing her been so bad? She hadnât said a word to him about what he had done. Heâd rather her yell at him or something but he didnât know what to think about her not saying anything. Was she that mad at him? Should he apologize?
His lips thinned in denial. He wouldnât apologize for something he hadnât meant to do. Should he just ignore it and act like it didnât happen? At this point, he just wished everything would go back to the way it was, although he himself would not forget the kiss. Toya glanced back down at her wondering what she was thinking.
Kyoko watched the sky as it started to get dark. She wished Kamui was here but knew he wouldnât be back until morning. The company wouldâve been welcome. Right now, she would even settle for Shinbe and Suki starting a fight between themselves. She grinned... now that was always amusing.
She played with the idea of going home, but it was already late and it would take hours to get back to the Heart of Time, unless Toya took her. Remembering the way he acted every time she wanted to go home kept her from asking him to take her. He seemed to think it was a sin to leave this world even for one day. The last thing she wanted to do was start a fight with him right now.
She reached into her duffle bag and pulled out her thin cover, not knowing what else to do. Maybe if she hurried and went to sleep, when she woke up, someone would be there⦠someone besides him. He acted like heâd already forgotten about kissing her and that annoyed her. He didnât say he liked it. And he didnât say sorry. He just didnât say anything, like it never happened.
Kyoko tossed the sleeping blanket and stretched out on it, deciding to just stare up at the stars that were slowly starting to appear. She couldnât help it, but sheâd been kissed twice in the last twenty-four hours, and after never being kissed before, that was all she could think about. She began to compare the two kisses.
Kyouâs kiss was powerful and exciting, although it kind of scared her because of who he was. Still, his lips were warm, where she thought theyâd be cold. His hands on her body were hot, instead of the chilling touch sheâd assumed he would have. She groaned as the memory sent a wave of heat through her body.
Toya twitched as he heard a faint groan come from Kyoko. Looking down at her, he noticed she seemed lost in thought. His eyes darkened to a molten gold. Her scent was changing and it was drawing him to her. He inhaled the sweet smell. Was she thinking about him?
His thoughts flashed back to when heâd gotten his senses back, after changing from his cursed form. Her lips were soft and she wasnât fighting him. He could still taste her. Nothing had ever affected him like that. Kyoko was a different story. When she wasnât yelling at him, she was one of the happiest people heâd ever known. Not that heâd known many humans but still, she was like his light in the darkness.
He secretly loved protecting her and keeping her close. It almost made shattering the Guardian Heart Crystal worth it⦠almost. Now he had to protect her from Hyakuhei and every demon around. He glanced back down at her sensing sheâd fallen asleep. He knew if they didnât stay focused on gathering the talisman, than things could become very deadly⦠too deadly for her to be in the middle of it all. Thatâs why he constantly pushed the group to keep searching.
Toya lightly jumped from the tree and landed quietly near her. He stalked within reaching distance of her and sat down. He often did this after she went to sleep so he could be near her if anything happened, that and the fact that he just simply liked being close to her. He relaxed into a light doze. The slightest sound would wake him and he would be ready.
Kyoko tossed in her sleep⦠dreaming. Toya had just killed Hyakuhei and was smiling as he walked up to her, crushing her to him. He looked larger than life. Gazing deep into her eyes, his lips came closer to hers as his eyes softened. She could see the love shining in them. She hesitated, suddenly unsure of what was happening.
"What about the time portal⦠donât I need to take the Guardian Heart Crystal back to my world?" she whispered worriedly.
Toya just smiled at her and shook his head. "Donât you know that I love you and would never let you leave?" He lowered his lips to hers and the kiss took her breath away. It was deep and passionate. It felt so real. She closed her eyes and the kiss changed.
The kiss was hungry and sensual, all at the same time. Realizing the difference, she opened her eyes and gazed into the golden eyes of Kyou. She could feel his hands on her body, slowly moving and tempting her to respond. She gave in to the feel and closed her eyes once more.
Thatâs when it all changed and Kyoko felt a chill crawl up her spine. The warm lips turned scalding and she sensed evil radiating from them. The hands caressing her body were like fire and the claws drew thin streaks of blood everywhere they touched. Her eyes flew open to look into eyes of midnight⦠Hyakuhei.
She heard him whisper in a soft, seductive voice tainted with evil, "no one can save you."
Kyoko started to struggle and could hear herself screaming but he was too strong. He was holding her down with a death grip. She screamed again, trying to fight him off. The hands holding her down disappeared and she felt herself being raised up and pressed against something solid.
"Kyoko, wake up⦠Kyoko.â Wait⦠that wasnât Hyakuhei⦠her struggles slowed. She felt a hand sliding through her hair, cradling her and making her feel safe.
Slowly, she opened her eyes and could see the dark hair with silver highlights. She was pressed against Toyaâs chest and he was holding her⦠slowly rocking her back and forth. Thinking she was still dreaming, Kyoko snuggled into him and closed her eyes again not wanting the dream to end.
As long as Toya was holding her then Hyakuhei wouldnât come back to her dreams to haunt her. She was almost in his lap and she could hear him. "Itâs alright, Kyoko. Iâve got you. Itâs all right now. Shhhâ¦â She could feel her body still shaking from the dream but she calmed at Toya's soft voice. The sound of his heartbeat lulled her safely into a dreamless sleep.
Toya could feel that she was slowly calming down. Sheâd nearly scared him to death, thrashing and screaming in her sleep like that. Whatever it was had scared the hell out of her and she had scared the hell out of him. He pulled on her until she was all the way in his lap. He held her tight as her trembling slowly subsided. Her cheek was pressed against his chest and he was cradling her body in his arms. She was light as a feather to him and Toya loved the feel of her cradled again him.
"Shhh⦠Iâve got you. Nothing is gonna hurt you. I wonât let it. Now go back to sleep, Kyoko." He gently rocked her as his fingertips brushed her hair from her face. She was flushed from the dream and had her eyes closed⦠but he could sense that she knew he was the one who held her. His heart skipped a beat thinking Kyoko knew he was holding her and still she didnât object.
She was already falling back to sleep as he lightly touched her cheek, tracing the outline, feeling her silky skin. In her sleep, she looked like an angel in his arms⦠his angel. This was what he wanted. Heâd never let anyone take her from him, not the demons and especially not his brothers.
Slowly, so as not to wake her, Toya leaned back on the blanket and laid them both down, pulling the top up over them. He kept a hold on her, keeping her body against his and curled around her in a protective embrace. It was the most comfortable heâd ever been in his life and it only took a minute for him to fall into the first deep sleep heâd had since⦠forever.
It was several hours later that Kyoko felt warmth and reached for it. She froze. Slowly, as if afraid to know the truth, she turned her head to the side just as Toya sat up.
Feeling her stirring he frowned, knowing he shouldâve gotten up and away from her hours ago.
Kyoko gazed at him curiously, trying to see his eyes but his head lowered and his hair fell across them, shielding their expression. He stood up without saying anything and walked into the foliage surrounding their camp.
Kyokoâs brows lowered in confusion. He slept here with her last night? Then a memory came back to her. She remembered dreaming and Toya⦠She gasped. It wasnât a dream. Heâd held her last night. She looked down at the blanket that still had his imprint on it. He mustâve fallen asleep beside her. She smiled her secret smile, reaching over and tracing her fingers over the imprint heâd left behind.
She glanced up as Kamui came into the clearing, "Hi, Kamui. Glad your back." His tussled hair glinted with purple highlights in the morning sun and his eyes shown the most beautiful colors. Those who were close enough to see knew they held multihued glitter within the shining orbs but to Kyoko, it was his smile that made him irresistible.
Kamui glanced around seeing she was alone and wondered why. "Where is everyone? Are Suki and Shinbe not back yet? And whereâs Toya?â Kamui pulled a sack from his shoulder and placed it in front of Kyoko with raised eyebrows.
"Nope, not yet, but Toya should be back in a few minutes. What do you have here?" Kyoko watched as Kamui started lifting food from the bag.
"Sennin sent this with me and said to enjoy it since we hardly ever get a really good meal unless you bring it back from your time.â Kamui looked up at her with his big eyes sparkling with an array of colors and beamed at her expression when she spotted the sweets that came with the small feast. "Come on, letâs dig in.â Kamui announced.
"Well, youâre back early this morning, Kamui,â Toya said lazily as he walked back into the clearing. He glanced at Kyoko with some unreadable emotions reflecting in his golden eyes then quickly looked away.
Kamui glanced up at Toya. They fought a lot but in truth, Kamui looked up to Toya. Heâd changed a lot since spending so much time around Kyoko. In Kamuiâs opinion, Kyoko made Toya a better person.
"Sennin said that the forest to the east has had an uprising of demons terrorizing the area within the last week. There might be talismans involved so we should check it out." The last was said as Kamui stuffed his mouth with a flavorful piece of bread.
âHey, youâre gonna save me some of that, right Kamui?" Toya sat down beside them and started grabbing some of the food for himself.
Kyoko grinned as she watched them fight over a strawberry rice ball Sennin had sent. The normalness of it didnât last long though.
Toya tensed up, catching a scent riding the breeze. "Damn it!" He jumped to his feet as his eyes narrowed. "What the hell does he want?"
Before Kyoko could ask who, a rush of air blew across the clearing and stopped less than a foot in front of her, knocking Toya off balance. Kyoko found herself staring into the ice blue eyes of Kotaro, one of the five guardians. Much like Kyou, he hunted the talisman alone, searching for clues to where Hyakuhei was hiding.
He was perfection, with lean muscles and windblown ebony hair that hung down longer in the back and ice blue eyes. He was wearing all black with a purple undershirt showing through. He and Toya couldnât stand each other but it was mostly because Kotaro had told everyone that Kyoko belonged to him.
"Good morning, Kyoko," Kotaro said in a soft, masculine voice, taking her hands in his and raising them up in front of him. "How is my future mate this morning?" He gazed deep into her eyes making her blush.
No matter how many times Kyoko had told him she wasnât his or anybody elseâs, he still called her his future mate with such confidence and charm.
"Kotaro, damn it! Let go of Kyoko and why donât you ever watch what youâre doing?â Toya growled at him as he pushed himself off the tree he practically had been shoved into by Kotaroâs guardian winds.
Kotaro wrinkled his nose not even bothering to look at Toya and just glared in the general direction of his sibling. "I knew I smelled you somewhere," He said insultingly.
Kamui watched in amazement as Toya bristled and could tell he was getting more pissed off by the second. He slid closer to Kyoko whispering. "Ah, Kyoko, you might want to stop this before it starts." Knowing that Kyoko was the only thing keeping them from tearing each other apart, Kamui took a safe step back from the trio.
Kyoko knew Kotaro was harmless⦠well, to her anyway. She took her hands from his⦠still blushing from the way he was looking at her. She could actually see the love and devotion shining in his ice blue eyes.
"Kotaro, what brings you this way?" She asked to get his attention off of Toya.
