The Long Road to Freedom 3: Birth of an Empire

Hebi

Rekkonji joined Sesshoumaru and Kintsuke almost a week later near the mountainous territory of the Hebi tribe. Truth be told, he was looking forward to the battle. In his mind, they were deserving of every ounce of pain they would now suffer after having ousted Hiken and his tribe from their ancestral home here. Territories belonged to those strong enough to defend them, true, but it was the way the slimy bastards had gone about it that sat ill with the jackal. This was the price for their dishonor.

The plan was simple. Sesshoumaru would wait for the fighting to begin so he could identify those loyal to him, who would be fewer in number, while Rekkonji and Kintsuke would manage anyone fleeing the territory. Once the dust settled, the survivors would be sorted through, and any remaining vassals of the dead Council members executed. It was the best way to ensure the sentiments of their masters did not fester.

"I wonder if Tsukina will be among the members that have to die," Kintsuke mused.

Rekkonji rose a brow.

"Why does it matter?"

"It doesn't, I'm just curious. From what I remember reading, only certain lines are permitted on the Council of Nine. I can't imagine someone capable of shattering that ancient tradition would be stupid enough to oppose Sesshoumaru."

Rekkonji hummed in agreement.

As the sun peaked, the sounds of combat began echoing through the ravines and crags. Sesshoumaru left them to find an inconspicuous vantage point. A plunging dip between two peaks had been leveled out and served as the meeting area for the Council. Ravines branched away from the dip in several directions. Gathered in them were higher-ranking members of the tribe, watching their nine leaders, who had come to blows. One by one, they unfurled into their demon forms. Eight were brightly colored and bore elegant designs. The last was a bit smaller and colored in drab earthen tones. They slithered and coiled and struck at one another, and soon, two groups were clearly defined.

Sesshoumaru quickly memorized the colors of the six who opposed him.

As soon as the first serpent fell, several of the demons waiting in the ravines tore away to flee. Sesshoumaru saw now that the colors and designs of their robes match that of the dead serpent and understood.

'How kind of them to mark my prey so blatantly.'

Flashing fangs quickly culled three more, leaving only two supportive of him. Dancing colors caught his attention, and Sesshoumaru glanced to find the tell-tale dark light of Kintsuke's fire. When he returned his gaze to the battlefield, only four serpents remained. One of his enemies had slithered off. Sesshoumaru's brow twitched. The mess of the fight left no visible trail, but their absence presented the opportunity Sesshoumaru had been waiting for. He could hunt the other after.

In a single graceful leap, he introduced himself in his own snarling demonic form. Enormous paws crushed one of the opposing serpent's skulls. The second he batted into the mountain wall as it struck at him. The remaining two, one colorful and one drab, curled back onto themselves defensively, tongues flicking furiously. He growled low at them. They both shrank into humanoid forms and eased toward a ravine.

The remaining serpent recovered itself and struck at him again. Sesshoumaru dodged and snapped his jaws around its neck. He shook the thing furiously, slamming its body into the ground and walls until the head broke off. Momentarily lost in his bloodlust, he crushed the head under a paw and tore the rest of the body to shreds. His point made, he turned again to his two remaining supporters, and resumed his own humanoid guise. Cautiously, they came to meet him.

"One escaped," he said.

The drab-colored female spoke.

"Haka, ever the coward. Hiding with hisss vassalsss, no doubt."