Black Knight: Dark Queen Chapter 22

Hey all, sorry it's taken me so long to update. It's been a very eventful year, including me getting married, moving, and working on two radio dramas. If you want to hear them, look up The Manga Project online.

Chapter 22: Sorting the pieces

Tessa crowed in triumph. She basked in the energy coursing through her, like drinking a hot cup of tea or cocoa, slowly trickling down the length of her extremities. She closed her eyes in pleasure, almost purring like the cat she was stealing this life force from, though she doubted he was actually purring, mentally or otherwise. The best part was that he'd stopped fighting.

She had known it would only be a matter of time before it happened. These weak humans had to give in eventually, all of them. They always did. They always would. It was part of their nature, and she reveled in it. Sure, she hadn't quite broken through all the barriers just yet. But she was close, ever so much closer than she had been only an hour ago.

It was like peeling an onion. You had to savor every layer before moving onto the next, each a bit more of a challenge, but so worth it. And, already, she'd peeled back several layers, enough to access his most basic memories, enough to know that he'd been shunned and rejected as a child, scorned and ridiculed. These were all very useful emotions to feed on, and she couldn't resist taking a small taste, glowing in pure pleasure as she did.

She had been right about this one. He would be a most excellent tool and very prolonged meal. She would consume him to the core once he was no longer useful, however long that took. He was tough, though, so she had no fear that he would last for however long she needed him. Part of her hoped it would be indefinitely. Part of her hoped it would come more quickly. But his soul! It was the most amazing ambrosia from the heavens, or, more accurately, the deepest, darkest parts of hell.

He stood in front of her, eyes blank, expressionless, waiting to do her bidding. Perhaps not quite yet, completely obedient to all she wanted, but that would happen very, very soon. She didn't even give him half a day until that happened. And the things she was learning! This Sohma family he belonged to… it was all so interesting.

She was tempted, sorely tempted, to go round up the others she now knew were at least similar to him, all thirteen of them. But none of them had the same depth of despair that he did. At least not that she could tell from his surface memories. Some seemed to have split personalities, but that didn't compare to the depth of the darkness in Kyo's soul.

Tessa took one more taste, delicately licking at the soul threads gently swaying outwards from his core. She closed her eyes and basked in the energy coursing through her, just from one small taste. Her hands held him firmly at the shoulders as she stared into his lifeless eyes. "Soon, it will be all over, and there will be absolutely nothing anyone can do."

There was only one problem. She sighed as she let go of him, arms dropping to her sides. Two problems, actually. She had to make sure that anyone associated with Kyo either forgot about his existence, or were erased from existence. She doubted it would be hard to do with that Yuki boy. The others who lived there, she wasn't so sure about, and wouldn't be sure about until she actually met them and tasted their auras. The other problem was the owner of that strand that niggled at the back of her mind. Who did it belong to? And would that person interrupt her plans?

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The wind swept gently through the open window, blowing the curtains as the stars sang their quiet lullaby in the heavens above. Somewhere, a wind chime tinged with the sound of metal and glass delicately colliding. A stray dog sniffed, then howled into the breeze before moving on down the street.

Hana lay in her bed, eyes closed, but fully dressed. Her head lulled from side to side, as though she were caught in a malevolent dream. "No. Not Tohru."

Wisps of faint energy drifted in through the open pane of glass, almost as if seeking her out or drawn to her. They swayed lazily in the moonlight, landing on her forehead, only to disappear as they sunk into her dreams.

Hana groaned as a flash of light interrupted her dream and she found herself running down a long alley, accompanied by Sebastian the butler, his master, Ciel, and Kyo, running as if their lives, or someone else's, depended on their speed.

Men jumped out and attacked them as they burst through doors and into strange rooms. Guns fired. Knives were thrown, among many other objects. Fists collided with heads and other parts of the attacking foes. A scream echoed down the furthest corridor and Kyo ran, shedding the beads from his wrist, transforming into a grotesque monster.

He flew into the room at the end of the hall and attacked a shadow holding Tohru by her neck, pressed against a ghostly face. The shadow threw Tohru aside when it saw the boy charging him with killer claws, attacking him. They fought back and forth until Kyo was flung to the ground, bleeding.

Then Sebastian swept in like a creature out of the darkest nightmare, and engaged the shadow. The two seemed to converge as one, flinging their energies all over the room, until, after a dizzying display of flying energy, the shadow disintegrated and was gone, leaving Kyo in human form, crying over Tohru who lay as though dead.

Hana woke with a start, her eyes flying open, pupils wide as she stared upwards in shock. She half gasped, as if she hadn't been breathing. It didn't feel like a normal dream. She put one hand to her forehead, feeling an almost sticky residue there, which she pulled at, bringing with it a small thread of mental energy.

She looked at it with some confusion, recognizing the energy signature coming from the strand. Slowly, she sat up and moved to the window, looking out into the night, wondering if there were any more strands floating in the breeze that might help her find the owner. "Kyo is out there somewhere," she said to the moonlight. "And for Tohru's sake, I'm going to find him."

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The ambulance pulled up at the hospital with a screech of tires and wailing sirens. Hospital staff converged as the paramedics removed the gurney from the back, Sebastian following behind them.

"I'm sorry, but you can't go back there," a nurse told him as she held him back, watching his master be wheeled away, not to one of the many cubicles in the large room, but further down the hall as Hatori suddenly dashed past them all.

Sebastian was tempted to decline this show of authority, to push past anyway, but he also knew that he needed to allow these humans the semblance of order in this chaotic event. He let out a sigh and headed towards the waiting room she pointed out, not that he intended to stay there for long. He could become a shadow and join his master in the room they'd taken him, observe to make sure things didn't get out of hand, though to what end, he wasn't entirely sure. He did feel confident that they would do their best to help his master, and he couldn't do much more than they, with their modern training. It was probably best to let them be and wait.

He sat down to think, pondering on the events of the past two or three days, from the very moment when they had originally been given the order to hunt that witch down, up to this point. He sifted the information, trying to make sense of the various little pieces that wanted to float independently around, despite his demon logic trying to fit them securely in place. Despite this, a picture was continuing to form behind his calculating red eyes. He just had to factor in all the pieces, each player in this massive game of chess, even as uncertain as he was about his opponent. He would continue to play the game, even though his master was currently incapable of doing so. It was his duty.

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Lau Tao sipped appreciatively on Tohru's freshly brewed tea. It wasn't the typical tea he was used to, but it was quite tasty, if he did say so himself, especially on such short notice. It did not take his keen eyes, though usually deceptively vague, to see that something major was going on, and he definitely wanted in on some of the fun.

Ran Mao sat next to him, practically draped across his lap, ready to pour more tea for him, or take out any of the simpering idiots staring at her master, and, most definitely, at herself and her scanty attire. "Tea good," she said, complimenting Tohru as these two idiots continued to stare at her, mostly in shock, though she did detect some lust from the older one.

Tohru beamed, even though she was still in her pajamas, and her hair was all messed up. No one had had the energy to make themselves decent after the recent happenings. "Would you like some more?"

Ran Mao tipped her cup to reveal it was still halfway full, then shook her head with a soft smile for the girl. They had become sort of friends in their last encounter, though there was definitely more than that. The Chinese woman found that she had to admire the younger woman; if only for her ability to deal with everything she knew that child had to deal with.

Shigure nervously cleared his throat. "Well then, so you're more friends of Tohru and Kyo's, right?" His voice sounded rusty, like he hadn't used it in a while. His eyes kept darting to the very short skirt covering Ran Mao's body, leaving those long, sexy legs uncovered. Despite his love and dedication towards another, he couldn't help but feel his heart thudding erratically at the sight of those smooth legs.

Lau smiled serenely. "Ah yes! That's right! Tohru's friends! And Master Ciel and his butler! Isn't that right, Ran Mao! We followed him here, you know."

Ran Mao nodded in agreement, her face a mask from any emotion as she observed these newcomers into their little game. How would they react, knowing that they were in the presence of a crime boss and drug lord? Had they heard of the Dragon Lord? And would they let her play, later of course, with some of these interesting toys they had laying around, like the bulbous lamps and the television box that was so much more complex than any the earl had in his estate.

Shigure nodded like he was half drunk, not really sure what to make of these strange newcomers. He tugged at his collar, feeling that there was more to these two, just like the earl and his butler, than they both let on. He had no false ideas that these two could handle themselves. There was that certain quality to them, one he cultivated himself, of a darker, more sinister nature underneath. Being of a similar nature, he could sense that much, though he wasn't sure just what it meant.

Yuki sipped at his tea, more awake now than he had been previously. He was trying to figure out just how Tohru and Kyo had managed to befriend two more unusual people. Clearly he wasn't as attentive to those things as he should be. He'd have to work on that, he decided.

Shigure laughed nervously for the fifth time since they'd sat down to a very belated tea. "Um… so, what's your relationship with the earl again?"

Lau smiled. "Oh, I work for him every now and again," he said lazily, really wishing for his pipe, which, for whatever reason, seemed to be missing from his enormous pockets. He'd have to ask either Ran Mao, or Sebastian, if they'd somehow removed it without his knowledge. "You might say we help each other out." He smiled serenely, eyes still closed as he lounged against the couch.

Tohru glanced at the two futons she'd managed to pull out of storage, just waiting for their two new guests to use. She suppressed the urge to yawn, blinking to keep the sleep from her eyes, though it was quite obvious that she was more than ready to go back to bed.

Yuki glanced her way and saw her valiantly staving off sleep. "Why don't we continue this in the morning, after everyone's had a chance to get some rest," he suggested.

Shigure grabbed onto that idea like a lifeline. "Excellent idea, Yuki!" He clapped his hands as he quickly got to his feet. "Everyone should try to get some more sleep before the sun rises. Then, in the morning, we can figure out just what is going on."

Lau nodded vaguely. "Sleep does sound good, doesn't it my little butterfly?" He turned to face Ran Mao, who nodded. They had both been up long enough. He stood sanguinely, and stretched. "Well then, off to bed we go!" He sauntered over to the mats on the floor, his companion glued to his side until he laid down and almost immediately started to snore ever so delicately.

The Sohmas blinked at this behavior, watching as Ran Mao settled herself down on the other matt, sitting cross-legged, staring at her companion.

Tohru nodded. "Well then, I'm off to bed," she said, not bothering to see if the boys would follow the example and go back to their respective rooms. She made sure to check the door, though, on her way back upstairs.