Accidental Time Traveler-InutaishoxOC

24. Resistance

The scent of Layla's blood abruptly vanished as if swept away by a gust of wind. Toga loped through the air circling above the forest canopy. The setting sun streaked the sky with orange and pink, marking the swift passage of time. Toga hovered above the trees, dragging in the air in deep drafts searching for any trace of Layla.

He found nothing.

Toga fought a bout of frustration. Her captors had quickly tilted things to their advantage. Suddenly, darkness descended over his eyes as a powerful blow struck him in the head. His concentration slipped and he dropped toward the trees, his last thought of Layla.

Sesshomaru watched his father fall out of the sky like a comet, crashing into the forest. He flattened an entire acre with his enormous body, clouds of dust billowing up around his still form.

Soaring lower, Sesshomaru floated level with his father's head. He's unconscious. Something must have happened to his woman. I don't have time to waste on him. He has no one to blame for his weakness but himself.

Gathering his energy, he lifted off, searching for the missing scent trail that led to Rin.

OoO

They traveled non-stop through the night and the next day until they came across a village full of dead mortals lying in the streets.

Wrinkling his nose, Killian covered his face with his sleeve, appalled by the stench of rotting corpses. This was a common occurrence in this time, whole villages decimated, the bodies left to decompose because no one was left alive to bury them.

Killian found the whole thing inconvenient, but the smell would help conceal the presence of the faeries and the humans from any pursuers. Despite his dismissive attitude Killian believed the one called Sesshomaru would follow.

During his forays into the castle, he'd witnessed the beast kill a servant for not stepping out of his path. Not even the lords and ladies of Underhill would engage in such casual cruelty. After all, if one killed all the servants who would be around to serve them?

A damnable waste of labor.

Killian stepped over a headless corpse and entered what passed for a town square. The air vibrated with possibility, the portal to Underhill hovering on the edge of existence. At moonrise the portal would form, and Killian could leave this wretched world behind for good.

His companion set down his burden, the child silently crying, finally overcome by her predicament. Killian regarded the brat with disgust. He almost preferred Layla's incessant cursing and ill-timed jabs. She'd regained consciousness hours earlier and did her level-best to drive him insane.

Layla wriggled free of Killian's shoulder, landing hard on the ground. She dusted herself off brusquely and glowered up at him. "I'm not a piece of cargo."

"Mmm. I agree. You aren't nearly as valuable." Killian said with saccharine sweetness just to make her explode.

To his dismay, Layla did not rise to his bait. She folded her arms across her chest and checked out their surroundings. She blanched when she saw the bodies. "What happened here?"

Killian shrugged. "Don't know, don't care."

"You might want to rethink your position in case whatever wiped out the villagers returns." Layla retorted sharply. "I'm not going to die because of your hubris."

"Fear not, I can slay whatever comes our way." Killian walked up to her, seizing her chin. "Now, that we're here I need to take care of one more thing." He grabbed a piece of her hair twisting it between his fingers almost idly while she watched him suspiciously.