Cursed Hearts. Amy Blankenship
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the Hogo house, a tremor could be felt as the scent of the priestess was carried across the land by the October wind. Blood red eyes flashed open and the claws of demons could be heard scraping against stone walls as they reached for her.
Endless caverns and tunnels had long ago been dug out by those same claws. Tunnels that had slowly been shaped into elaborate hallways lit by torchlight from stone sconces. Carvings of demonic victories decorated almost every surface while the natural quartz rock in the ground added a glittering luster to the otherwise dark and dreary surroundings.
The large caverns were transformed into separate rooms containing bedrooms, bathing rooms and even what would have been thought to be a throne room with a chair carved from slick black rock. More quartz stone was inlaid in the walls of the rooms, reflecting the dim light of the torches and amplifying it. Semi-precious stones had also been found to inlay in the walls while long curtains of silk and brocade hung from the ceilings⦠procured by unknown means.
It was a castle built underground to protect a very precious thing, even more precious than the stones in the walls.
Within the bowels of the caverns, in one of the bedrooms, emerald green eyes were shadowed by curiosity as they quickly glanced up at the silk-covered ceiling, wondering what had agitated the demons. Feeling the still air stir beside his bed, he looked to find the man whoâd raised him from a baby and given him everything he had ever wanted⦠even the power to control demons.
âHyakuhei, have the guardians found us?â Tama asked almost looking forward to the fight. Being a teenager was hard enough for a normal boy⦠and Tama was nowhere near normal.
The corners of Hyakuheiâs lips curved ever so slightly into the hint of a smile. Everything within him stilled as he inhaled. âIt is the scent of the priestess that has rattled the demons tonight⦠I do believe she has come home.â
Tamaâs eyes lit up with dark excitement. âMy sister has finally come back to us?â He threw his senses outward, trying to feel her by using the power Hyakuhei had shared with him. He inhaled deeply, tasting the sweetness in the air but he could also taste the power of the guardians nearby.
If they had just let Hyakuhei go to his sister in peace, then none of this would have happened. Theyâre evil creatures⦠thinking theyâre better than the demons. It was the guardianâs fault that the demons went after his family when theyâd first come into this world.
On their arrival, the demons had run free⦠killing him and his parents because Hyakuhei had been injured the second Toya had shattered The Heart of Time. That injury had cost the demon lord control over the demons for a little while.
Hyakuhei had still been inside the time portal when it was shattered⦠causing his corporeal body to turn into that of a shade in order not to be destroyed. Had the guardians not done that, then Hyakuhei wouldâve remained in control of the demons. Neither Tama⦠nor his mom and dad would have been killed.
Hyakuhei had found him lying in his crib. The demons hadnât damaged his body like they did his parents, but he was dead just the same. Remembering how much the priestess had loved her little brother in the past⦠Hyakuhei used his remaining strength to become whole enough to breathe some of his life force into him, reviving the soul that had not yet left the body.
All this time, he and his savior remained hidden from the guardians, waiting on Kyoko to return. Over the past years, Hyakuhei slowly regained some of his strength but it still drained him when he used that energy to turn his body from a shade back into flesh and blood. As soon as that store of power was spent, he would return to being a shade. The only advantage of being a shade was that he could spy on the guardians⦠even be in the same room with them and they would never know it.
Many times when Tama was a child, heâd silently asked Hyakuhei why they didnât send the demons to attack the guardians. He had simply replied, âThere is no need for war when there is nothing yet to fight for.â Since Hyakuhei had used his life force to bring him back to life, not only could they communicate through a mental link but Tama could also see the shadows of Hyakuheiâs memories from his point of view⦠feel his feelings. He knew Hyakuhei was right to wait.
Tama remembered the stories Hyakuhei had told him about his sister. Tales of the human girl whoâd accidentally stepped through the time portal so long ago⦠bringing an entire village of humans with her into the demon realm. Hyakuhei and his twin brother Tadamichi had stopped the demons from killing Kyoko and the humans who suddenly found themselves within the massive demon realm.
While under their protection, Hyakuhei had fallen in love with her and given her the power to be his priestess⦠the power to cross between worlds so she could come back to him. In a jealous rage, his twin brother Tadamichi had stolen her from him and thrust her back into her own dimension, sealing the portal between worlds. It had been a malicious act full of jealousy over the priestess.
Hyakuheiâs heart had been shattered. Heâd then turned from his brother in anger and claimed the demons as his new allies. Becoming their master, his war with the guardians had been for one reason⦠to find a way through the heart of time so he could reclaim his lost priestess. Because of the power heâd given her, the priestess was now immortal⦠being reincarnated over and over as the key to the portal between worlds. But with the passing of time, she had forgotten her true power and her love for Hyakuhei.
Tamaâs eyes burned with hatred for Tadamichi and the guardians. âWhat will they do to her?â he envisioned the portrait heâd seen within his familyâs living room when he would slip in and out of the house without the guardians noticing. She was lovely and he wanted his sister back.
Hyakuhei silenced the demons that awaited his command knowing he would have to be careful for now. He looked down at the young man heâd raised to be the dark prince of the demons⦠Kyokoâs little brother. When he had first broken through the time portal, he had come for Kyoko, had wanted to raise her by his side until she came of age for him to claim her. But the old man had hidden her away from the demons that had attacked the family.
His most lethal demons had already killed the boy and his parents before he could tighten his hold on them. It was those same demons that he now held imprisoned within his body so he could have power over them. Without his ironclad control, the demons would have killed every human theyâd come across⦠spreading death like a plague.
Knowing Kyoko was still alive and would one day return, heâd wanted a gift for her⦠her little brother. He gave Tama some of his life force along with the power to help him rule over the demons. From the first moment Tama had drawn breath, they had a telepathic link. And though the boy had never spoken a word to this day⦠they could hear each otherâs thoughts. Since then, Tama had stayed by his side willingly⦠just like his sister once had.
âShe is of age now⦠they will desire her.â Hyakuhei's anger at the thought could be heard in his voice. âThey will attempt to gain her trust by telling her they are protecting her from the demons. Once she befriends them, they will try to claim her and her power to control the time portal.â
âSo sheâs safe for now,â Tama mused. âBut we canât let her stay with them. She doesnât belong there.â His emerald irisâs expanded then darkened to ebony. âDo you have a plan?â
âWe will have to be cunning. I was not able to bring many demons with me into this world and my own powers are fleeting. When your sisterâs powers are awakened by the guardians and we are reunited, my powers will be restored.â Hyakuhei could feel the sway of the demons inside him as they rattled their prison walls wanting the power that lay within the priestess. If the demons could get to her, they would force her to open the time portal and let the rest of the demons into this domain.
He growled knowing not only would he have to be smarter than the guardians⦠he would have to outwit the demons as well. Heâd found that the only way to overcome evil