Chapter 20

Getting caught

The day had dawned, and the bandits slept fitfully in the bell tower. Youko kept having nightmares and Koronue was kicked several times by the sleeping fox. It was so bitterly cold there; Koronue could not feel his wings. When they could stay asleep no longer, they discussed any options of 'storming the castle' and 'rescuing the damsel in distress.'

"Her reiki is very faint now, she must be asleep or very weak." Youko noted for the umpteenth time. Koronue paced to keep himself from strangling his friend. "We have to save her."

"I know. I know! You have to stop saying that. You are driving me crazy." The bat snapped suddenly.

"I'm sorry," the fox looked down at his hands. "I just can't think very well now,"

"You can think, you just think about one thing. When we find her, will we need to fight Raden? Will we need an escape route? And if so, what obstacles would lay in our way? This werewolf is not to be taken lightly."

"What are werewolves vulnerable to? I know they don't like fire, but is that a true weakness?"

"Silver can kill them too, but it has to be near an open wound for it to take affect."

"So, fire and silver are our weapons. Neither of which we have. How can we attack with such an arsenal?"

"Perhaps a flaming, silver arrow?" Koronue wrapped his wings around himself and sat down. "Neither of us can use fire, and we have no silver at our disposal." The bat said.

"I suppose just fire will have to suffice unless we come across some silver. One can easily set another on fire with an ordinary source of heat; a candle, a torch, and all that."

"Fine, the next step is an escape route. We might have to walk around tonight and get the layout of the castle. Once we get out, the forest would help protect us."

"And what of the monsters in the forest? If Gabriel is injured, or weakened as I sense in her reiki, she could attract some dangerous things."

"We might have to risk it, or travel along the edges of the forest."

"So, tomorrow night, we should be ready if we are lucky."

"Lucky," Koronue scoffed, "we will need divine intervention to pull something like this off with out more planning."

Gabriel floated in darkness; the ray of familiar light was nowhere to be found, but her guardian was still with her. "Why is it dark?" she asked.

"Because hope is fading from your heart, little one. Why have you given up?"

"Three weeks is almost up, Raden won't let me go, Toko has betrayed me and Youko… is not coming!" she began to cry. She felt her guardian in her dream, he hugged her, "Please don't give up, please, keep hoping. Hope is what enables me to see you again." He pleaded.

"Who. Are. You?" she said slowly. Even in the darkness, she could see the sparkle in his eyes. "I was not going to tell you until you were free again, but, I suppose now is as good a time as any. I am-"

"Pet, pet! Wake up pet!" Raden's voice racked her brain. The darkness tore and disappeared. Gabriel opened her eyes. The werewolf patted her cheek, "You had another night terror." He said. The dream slowly began to fade from her memory, replaced by her anger. "You promised me to call me by my name." She whispered.

"Forgive me," he smiled his irresistible smile. She calmed down again. "Tell me, Gabriel, what would you like to do today?"

"I-I just want…to be alone." She turned away from him as she spoke. His head fell; she still didn't trust him. "If I have to be with you on the full moon, why not be separated until then?" she said. His eyes suddenly sparkled, "Of, course, my lady." He raised her hand and kissed it, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder." He laughed and picked her up, setting her in a chair, he called for a servant. "Take care of her, I will not be seeing her until the moon comes." And he left.

Gabriel sat near the window in her chair while the servant made her breakfast. She could not help but cry, her tears running down her face like dew on the windowpane.

The sun was setting again; the two bandits were on the move. Even in the dark, they stuck to the blackest corners and shadows. There were guards roaming almost every hallway. Youko wanted to add to his filched wardrobe and walk more freely as guards, but Koronue thought it to risky.

Roaming the castle was no easy job; it was a labyrinth of halls and dead ends. Nearly all of the servants were off duty and asleep, so it was hard to explain their roaming to guards who managed to stop them. One in particular caused them more trouble then they could handle. "Okoy, Eunorok!" They bristled at their fake names. The senior officer from the front gates had spotted them. "What are you doing in the castle? I thought you two were gate guards." He stared at them hard. Youko's mind went blank; what could they say?

"We got reassigned, instead of grub work, we have women's work." Koronue spat out the first thing that came into his head.

"Reassigned? Really?" the senior stroked his chin. "Lets see your Mark." He roughly grabbed Youko's jaw and peered into his eyes. In the center of his golden iris was a dark, clear sign of the family name. He scoffed and shoved his head away. "Why would the master make his own kin into a servant?" he mused, "That sounds just sick if you ask me." He shook his head.

"He kidnapped a youko girl and forced her to be his personal toy; he is a sick man." Koronue responded blankly. The officer nodded in agreement. "Right, well, I guess you're free to go." He turned away from them and started to walk away, "Oh, one more thing, Raden only has one son." He smirked. He took out a whistle and signaled to any other guards. Youko pounced on him and tore out his throat with his claws. He had no time to hide the body and fled when more guards came. Koronue wasted no time berating the fox. "We do not need any attention!"

Youko hissed indignantly, "What was I supposed to do? He could have ratted us out."

"But now security will be tighter. Raden now knows we are here."

"Let him come,"

"Stay cool, Youko, he is a werewolf, he's stronger than both of us." Koronue pulled his friend into the blackest shadows while a group of guards ran past them. Lights were blinking on all over the castle, trying to flush them out, so much for getting the lay of the halls. Youko tailed a guard down to the dungeons; there they waited in a dark and shabby cell, only furnished with a stone table. Youko sniffed the dank air; he recognized the faint scent of Gabriel. "She was here, in this cell. Raden put her in a cell!" he cursed and slammed his fist on the table.

For a few hours, they rested and said nothing, just listening for any sounds outside the cell. Youko could hear a slow drip-drip of water. A large puddle covered a third of the floor. He sighed as he looked down at it. His reflection rippled with each drop, making the circles under his eyes look bigger. He noticed his arms were bruised and scratched, his hair was a wreck, and his tail was a thick rope of dull gray tangles. He tried to get the tangles out of his hair and was nearly driven to the point of tears. Koronue tried to comfort his friend in what ways he could but failed. Talking made the silence deafening, and he wouldn't dare offer to help him with his hair. Youko saw Koronue meant well and smiled a real smile for the first time in weeks.

"I want to thank you for being with me through this." He said. "I don't know how I can ever reward your loyalty to our friendship."

Koronue shook his head; which was equally as chaotic as Youko's. "No, it's alright, you would have done the same for me; and so would she, that's what binds us all together, knowing that we would help one another when we need it." Youko gave a wry chuckle; Koronue knit his brow, "What?"

"It's just… I feel like a human, so full of emotions. We're legendary criminals, wanted for nearly every crime there is to commit, but we still get mushy on each other." Together they laughed, and then merely enjoyed the feeling of loyalty.

Not a real exciting chapter, but its leading up to some action in the next chapter. Also there is a time lapse in here somewhere.