The Demon's Love

IX

Kael bathed under the falls, letting the water sooth him. The pressure the falls applied to his body felt good, and the sound of the waterfall and flowing water relaxed him greatly. He had been stressed out lately. So many things had happened. Naevia and Lucretia had joined his party, half of Naraku's heart was destroyed, he had a new enemy, his ward, who was too young, was falling for Lucretia, and Naevia… well, Naevia was doing things to him that drove him crazy without her even realizing that she was doing it.

As Kael pondered on all of this, a familiar alluring scent hit his nose. 'Well speak of the devil.' Naevia was approaching. He smelled her unique scent mixed in with Naraku's stench that he left upon her when he created her. But even with the smell of that despicable half-demon on her, Kael found her scent intoxicating. And based upon how close her scent was, he knew that she was right behind him.

He turned to face her, his long white hair being the only thing to hide his nudity. Naevia was watching him with admiration, and there was a hungry lustful look in her eyes. She smiled seductively at him and stepped closer as she let down her glossy black hair.

"Naevia?" he said quietly.

She placed her finger on his lips to silence him. "Shh."

Kael's eyes widened as Naevia reached up and removed her kimono, letting it pool around her feet. He felt his heart rate increase as he looked at Naevia's gorgeous body. Naevia chuckled and stepped under the falls with him and wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing him in for a passionate kiss.

Kael could resist no longer as he gave into the desires that had been plaguing him for the past couple of weeks. He crushed his lips against hers, forcing his tongue into her mouth. Naevia responded to his kiss as he explored her hot wet cavern, their tongues battling for dominance.

The need for air eventually overcame them and they were forced to come apart. Kael began planting kisses along her jawbone until he reached her neck. Naevia moaned in pleasure and tilted her head back to give him better access.

"Kael…" she sighed as he sucked on the sensitive part of her neck.

His hand traveled over her body, caressing and massaging her. He pulled her against him, wanting to feel as much skin-to-skin contact as possible. She rubbed up against him, driving him insane with need. He had to have her, and he would. But not yet, he wasn't done with foreplay.

He turned her around and pulled her against him as his remaining arm across her chest held her close. She melted against him, reaching over her shoulder to hold his head close as he licked up and down her neck, occasionally nibbling on her ear. What remained of his left arm, he wrapped around her as much as possible. It was slowly regenerating, already having grown back a good six inches. He had a small scar from where his arm was severed since it didn't heal properly from constantly attaching a ripping off replacement arms, though it was hardly noticeable, only a slight shade lighter than his pale skin.

Naevia had her own scar on her back, which she inherited from Naraku; though hers was really more of a birthmark than a scar. It did not bother Kael though. He still found her entirely too desirable, and the spider shaped mark felt strangely erotic while the rest of her smooth skin was as soft as the wind. He still couldn't believe that Naraku had managed to create a goddess like her. And to think that the half-demon bastard had the nerve to torture something so precious and wonderful. Well that was in the past, and Kael would show her nothing but pleasure.

Naevia gasped when he nipped her. He smiled against her neck as her sounds of pleasure turned him on even more. He could smell her arousal. It was the most wonderful thing he had ever smelled. He could literally get lost in it.

Somewhere in his clouded mind, Kael wondered how she had gotten under his skin like this. He was Kael, the Lord of the Western Lands, she was a wind-demon, born from the flesh of a half-demon, yet she was able to do things to him that he had never thought possible.

Kael was no stranger to the flesh of a woman. But in the past, he had taken women for his own pleasure. With Naevia it was different. He wanted more than just her body. He wanted her. Completely and totally, body and soul. How could a woman do this to him? He hadn't thought it was possible to feel this way about someone.

Naevia suddenly turned around and pressed herself up against him again. This time she attacked his neck with her lips, licking and sucking him in the same manner he did to her. Her ruby red lips grazed his ear and she whispered seductively to him.

"I want you."

His control snapped. Using his one arm, he lifted her off the ground. Naevia automatically wrapped her legs around his waist as he pressed her up against the rocky wall, using his arm to shield her back against the rough texture. He had to have her. Right now, or else he would explode.

"Take me now." She said.

Kael pressed up against her, getting as close as possible as he brought her in for another shearing kiss.

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Kael's eyes snapped open, ending his erotic dream. He was panting, his heart was racing, and he was covered in sweat. And he was feeling very unsatisfied. How could a dream about Naevia affect him like this? Nothing had ever affected him like this. And, most importantly, why did it have to be a dream? At the very least he wished that the waterfall from his dream had been real, that way he could cool off.

This wasn't the first time he'd had a dream like that about Naevia. And it had been happening more and more lately. What was that damn woman doing to him? The thought that she had this affect on him infuriated him. He didn't want to feel this way, but he did. And to make matters worse, he liked it. How could he like something he didn't want?

He sighed. This wasn't the first time though. He had been in a situation similar to this with Rin. He had come to care for her like his own daughter. He hadn't wanted to, but he did. He had wanted her to stay with him. Now it the same thing was happening with Naevia, but on a different level. He wanted her to stay with him, he just didn't want to want that.

Kael glanced at the sleeping Naevia beside him. Even in her sleep she tempted him. What was different about her that separated her from his past lovers? Demons had needs just like everyone else, especially during mating season. As the Lord of the Western Lands, he had several concubines to satisfy him until he found a mate, but they meant nothing to him.

Naevia was different. He desired her more than all his concubines combined. More than any woman he had ever seen. And it wasn't just her body he wanted. If it was, he would only be lusting after. This wasn't just lust though. It was more, much more.

Unable to resist, he reached out to stroke her hair. He just wanted to touch her. These emotions were driving him crazy. What was happening to him? He was so confused, and he didn't like being confused. What was it about her? In the past she had shown him such disrespect and even insulted him. Had anyone else done that, he would have killed them. But not Naevia. He could never bring himself to hurt Naevia.

He froze as a thought occurred to him. Was this how his father felt about his mate? To him, it hadn't mattered that she was human, he had loved her and chose her over any demoness. It didn't matter to him that she had been human, just like it didn't matter to Kael that Naevia was the offspring of Naraku.

Kael sat back and pondered over this. One of the biggest reasons why he had always hated his brother was because of the half-breed's human mother. Kael's father had originally intended to mate with his mother. They were already lovers, but they had yet to become mates. Shortly after Kael had been born, he had fallen for Inuyasha's mother. He called off the mating with Kael's mother and mated with the human wench instead. Kael blamed her for stealing his father, and his hatred carried on to Inuyasha when he was born. But if Kael's father felt for Inuyasha's mother the same thing Kael felt for Naevia, he could hardly blame him for mating the human.

Was this love? Truth be told, Kael hadn't thought that he was capable of love. Well, there was his parents, but that type of love was different. To love others was something that he thought was beneath him, if he wanted to be strong, or so he had thought. Yet here he was, finding himself involved with company he never would have considered being worthy of his presence.

'No, this Kael cannot allow himself to love!' Kael had always saw love as a weakness. After all, his father, who had been, at the time, the most powerful demon alive, lost his life because of love. He had died protecting his mate and son. He loved them and died for them. Kael did not want that weakness.

Kael started to become angry again. He was Kael, the demon that everyone claimed to feel nothing about anything. While he may appear that way, on the inside he was full of emotions like everyone else, he was just very good at controlling them. Except for when it came to Naevia and Rin. Then he didn't seem to have control over himself. But he wanted to be in control. He had spent his whole life being in control. To have that control taken away was infuriating.

He was getting soft. That was the only explanation. His cold heart was melting. He could still wear his emotionless mask, but on the inside things were different. Rin seemed to be able to always tell what he was feeling, regardless of his expressionless mask. Actually, now that he thought about it, his growing compassion seemed to begin when he met the young girl. Ever since then, he slowly became, dare he say it, nicer. And the thing that was confusing him was that he liked it. He liked being compassionate from time to time. He would still hide it though, because to show compassion could be used as a weakness by his enemies. Naraku himself was very talented in that field.

'Naraku.' Kael seethed. He needed to get rid of that vermin. Then Naevia would truly be free, as would Lucretia. With that thought in mind, his desire to kill Naraku grew. He will kill that miserable half-breed. And then… and then all will be well, once he figures out these feelings that is.

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"Well, there it is." Said Naevia, nodding at the large fortress hidden deep within the forest.

Kael's yellow eyes fell upon the place he had currently been searching for. "So this is where Naraku has been hiding." He said. He sniffed the air. "He has moved on. This place is long since abandoned."

Naevia rolled her eyes. "Of course, Naraku wouldn't want anyone to know where he was hiding unless he wanted to draw them there."

"That's why he moved." Said Lucretia. "With me still alive, and knowing his location, he wouldn't stay in the same place for long."

"That Naraku is such a coward!" Jaken cried.

Naevia shrugged. "He doesn't like to get his hands dirty. And he enjoys using people. Naraku may have many abilities, but truth be told he gets most of his power from the Shikon Jewel."

Kael didn't respond. It wouldn't have mattered to him how strong Naraku was or how many abilities he had. He would still meet his end.

"What shall we do now, milord?" asked Jaken.

"There is nothing for us here." Kael replied. "Let us go."

But Lucretia had other ideas. "Um, Kael, if it would be alright, may we inspect the castle. Naraku was secretive about a few things here. Any information may be useful. We might even find out where he is going."

Jaken snorted. "Ha, as if you know better than Lord Kael!"

Kael ignored his servant as he glanced at the demon slayer. The boy had a point. Personally, Kael doubted that they would find anything to indicate where Naraku had gone. But then again, Lucretia had been the one working for Naraku. He had been in this very fortress at the same time the half-demon had. Perhaps he would be able to find something that only he would be able to understand. "Very well. But we leave tomorrow."

Jaken smirked. "See." Then he registered what Kael had said. "Wait, what?"

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"Clues, clues! Rin is going to find some clues!" the girl cried happily in a singsong voice, running through the fortress.

"Rin, don't go too far." Said Kael. He didn't think it was safe to run around freely in Naraku's former home.

Rin immediately froze, not moving an inch. And she didn't move until the others had caught up. Naevia snickered at the girl's behavior.

"Rin, he just meant not to run off without us." She said.

Rin just giggled and began running circles around the group with her arms stretched out.

'Where does she get all that energy?' Jaken wondered. He glanced at Lucretia. 'At least this boy doesn't run around all over the place, but he does get along very well with Rin. Maybe Lord Kael will let him baby-sit her instead of me. That way I'll be able to-'

"Jaken." Said Kael, bringing the toad-demon out his thoughts.

"Um, yes, milord?"

"Keep your eye on Rin."

"Wha… but milord-"

"This Kael will not repeat himself."

Jaken groaned. 'So much for that idea.'

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"I never thought I would see this place again." said Naevia in disgust.

Lucretia felt pretty much the same as her. "Don't worry. After today we'll never have to come here again." He paused for a moment and looked around. "It's this way."

Kael noticed that the further in they went, the stronger the smell of Naraku became. "Where are you heading?" he asked.

"To this one room that not even I was allowed in." said Lucretia. "I don't know what's in there and I doubt that if there was anything important that Naraku would have left it there, but I still think it's worth a look."

Kael didn't question him further. They walked in silence until they came to a door. Lucretia stopped in front of it and pulled out his sickle.

"This is it." He said. "I was never allowed to enter here."

"I wasn't either." Naevia replied.

Kael sniffed, trying to pick up the scent of something. There was definitely something beyond this door, and whatever it was smelled awful. But as bad as it smelled now, the stench intensified greatly once the doors were open. Naraku's scent and the smell of dead demons hit his nose with such force that Kael had to hold back a gag.

The room was full of the bodies of demons. No, the room was full of pieces of dead demons. There were limbs and other mutilated body parts everywhere. No wonder it smelled so bad.

"Uch, gross!" Naevia muttered. "I should have figured."

Trying to ignore the putrid smell, Kael asked, "You know what this is?"

Naevia nodded. "Yes, I've seen it before. Remember how I told you that Naraku uses demons to make up his body, and on his night of weakness he breaks down into the pieces that makes up his body so he can examine it and remove any weaknesses. Well, here's the result of it. All these pieces were once many demons. Apparently Naraku saw these parts as weaknesses, so he removed them from his body and kept only the useful parts."

Kael wriggled his nose in disgust. "And what happens to the demons he absorbs."

"They die." Said Naevia simply. "And he uses their bodies to make up his own.

"Talk about disrespecting the dead." Said Lucretia sarcastically. If his body was ever used to make up Naraku's body, he would see that as disrespecting his body in the worst possible way.

Kael glanced down at the remains of a demon. 'Disgusting.' He noticed that most of these demons were lesser demons; the kind that did nothing more with their lives than kill, the kind that always traveled with Naraku.

Lucretia sighed. "I guess this was a waste of time. I apologize for the delay."

"Your apology is not necessary." Said Kael. "By seeing what makes up Naraku's body may give this Kael an idea of how to stop him."

Lucretia figured that that made sense. "I guess."

Kael wandered further into the large room and the others followed. He found all of this to be perhaps the most sickening thing he had ever witnessed. Was Naraku so weak that he had to constantly absorb more and more demons rather than working to get stronger? How pathetic. Naraku was the definition of disgraceful.

'Even my half-breed brother has more honor and dignity than Naraku. At least he works to get stronger rather than relying on some jewel and absorbing demons.'

Suddenly he heard Naevia gasp. He turned to her and saw her looking at the wall almost fearfully. He turned his attention to what she was looking at. There were chains on the wall that were used to hold a person there. Kael realized that it was here that he imprisoned Naevia and tortured her for her disobedience. The very thought sent a wave of blinding fury through the demon lord.

'Naraku!' he seethed mentally, trying to control his rage. He saw red, and it wasn't because his eyes changed color, as his claws extended, digging into his palm. How he wished that half-breed were here now so he could tear him to pieces. 'You will pay for what you've done to her! This Kael will see you dead!'

He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his fury as Lucretia helped Naevia look away from the chains.

"Come on, Naevia, you don't need to see that ever again." the demon slayer told her.

Naevia pulled away from Lucretia. "I'm fine!" she snapped. "Lets just do what we must and leave!"

Lucretia nodded, not blaming Naevia for her behavior. He knew that her anger wasn't directed at him.

Kael attempted to remain calm as the two of them caught up, but he was finding it very hard to keep up his uncaring act. He continued into the large room, seeming to show no interest in what had just happened, but inside he was seething. He looked at all the dead pieces of demons, unable to keep the smell of death from reaching his sensitive nose.

'Naraku, when this Kael kills you, he shall completely obliterate you from this world. Like these demons that make up your body, I shall tear you apart piece by piece.'

The further in he ventured, the stronger the smell got. How many demon lives did Naraku sacrifice for his body? It was a real shame that so many demons had to die in vain. Not that Kael cared, but he still saw all these pointless deaths as wrong. Kael killed only when he had to and he never took pleasure in it. But Naraku enjoyed killing and he did it for no reason. So much death, and for what?

Kael came to a sudden halt as he picked up a different scent. This room was filled with the smell of death, but underneath all of that, he picked up the scent of something that was alive.

"Kael, what's wrong" asked Naevia. Being a demon, she too had a very good sense of smell, but not as good as Kael's since he was a dog-demon. Therefore she hadn't picked up what he had.

"Be on guard." Said Kael. "Something in here lives."