Chapter 29

Beyond the Black Forest

Kitty yawned as they slipped out of Stüttgart just before the sun rose. It was still dark with only the palest gray smudge on the horizon hinting at the coming dawn. There wasn't a soul aside from them who was awake and active at this hour so it was the best time to leave. Without any witnesses it would be next to impossible to know where they went and that was just how Logan wanted it. It didn't matter that they hadn't been detected by any of Lord Grauhard's soldiers; he wasn't going to take any chances. So it was an early start for them today.

The pitch black shadows of the Black Forest hovered before them as they exited the city. It looked like some massive shapeless monster that was waiting for them to enter before trapping them inside the blackness forever. If Kitty weren't so tired she would've shivered. Instead she just yawned and fought back the urge to roll off her saddle and take a nap on the ground. It was very tempting to her tired mind, but she resisted it. If she did that then everyone would have to stop and they'd be very angry about it, especially Logan and he wasn't a man to make angry.

As the trees closed around them Kitty felt like she was entering some sort of terrible dream. Everything was black and indistinct. It was very quiet; few birds were awake at this hour. She did hear the faint chirping of crickets and the buzzing of insect wings. The clopping of the horses' hooves was muted by the thick blanket of dead leaves and fallen pine needles. If she weren't so tired this would feel eerie, now it was just part of a distant dream. Kitty yawned again and her head began to drop as her grip slackened on Phantom's reins. The darkness of the forest, the lack of loud sound, and the gentle rocking motion of her horse's gait was slowly but surely putting her to sleep.

"Don't fall asleep, you'll fall off." A voice purred in her ear. Kitty jerked straight up and wide awake to find the Nightcrawler grinning at her as he rode alongside her on his black stallion.

"When did you get here?" Kitty asked sleepily.

"A few moments ago. Why did you leave town so early in the morning?" He asked curiously.

"Logan decided it would be best if we did." Kitty grumbled rubbing some sleep from her eyes.

"But why?" The blue demon wondered.

"Because Lord Grauhard was there." Bobby snapped back glaring over his shoulder at Nightcrawler as he rode ahead of them.

"Ah, that explains everything." Nightcrawler muttered to himself.

"Really?" Bobby demanded snappishly.

"Ja, I know all about him." The German replied somewhat uncomfortably.

"I doubt that." Bobby scoffed and turned around to face the narrow path. Nightcrawler instantly relaxed and looked a little sad.

"I save his life and bring him back to you and this is how he repays me." The fuzzy creature sighed.

"He's just mad at you for that sword fight." Kitty snorted.

"Is that true?" The yellow-eyed demon asked.

"Yes it is. He thought you were going to stab me or lop my head off." She replied rolling her eyes skyward. Nightcrawler gave her an incredulous look before exploding into laughter.

"What an idiot!" He cackled. "Why would I do that?"

"I don't know, why would you?" Kitty asked seriously. He stopped laughing.

"I wouldn't. I have nothing against you, I don't hate you, you weren't out to kill me, so why would I?" He replied gently. Kitty looked away, the gentle yet sad look in his golden eyes twisted something deep in her chest and she couldn't bear to look at him anymore.

"I was just checking." She muttered.

"I know." Nightcrawler whispered.

"Where's Lockheed?" Kitty asked suddenly, wanting to change the subject and find out what had become of her pet in her absence.

"He's still sleeping, it's too early for little dragons to be awake yet." Nightcrawler teased and gestured behind him. She followed his finger and spotted Lockheed curled up onto of the Nightcrawler's pack fast asleep. Kitty smiled faintly.

"He didn't give you any trouble did he?" She asked.

"Only a little on the first day. He wailed and wailed like the world was ending because he thought that you'd abandoned him forever. But I was able to convince him that that wasn't the case so he was fine for the rest of the week." He cheerfully replied.

"Well that's good to hear. I hope you didn't corrupt him." She joked.

"I would never corrupt anything." He replied acting mildly insulted. "And I would certainly never corrupt a friend."

"A friend?" Kitty asked confused as to who he was referring.

"Yes Lockheed is my friend. Does this bother you?" Nightcrawler asked.

"No, so long as you take good care of him while I'm away I have no complaints." She replied. The blue furred devil seemed content with this answer.

"So where are we going now?" He asked.

"Nürnberg." She answered.

Nightcrawler nodded but said nothing in return. They rode in silence for a half hour or so, which Kitty found to be quite enjoyable. When he wasn't being annoying and moronic he was actually very good company unlike Bobby who never ever shut off. Then Lockheed began to stir. First he opened his little yellow eyes and yawned flashing his tiny needle fangs. Then he stood up and began stretching everything he could stretch. Once he finished waking himself up he spotted Kitty and squealed in delight. With a short fluttering hop he left the back of Nightcrawler's saddle and landed in her lap where he purred happily.

After Kitty and Lockheed had finished greeting each other Kitty realized that Nightcrawler had vanished. She looked around until she caught a shadowy glimpse of him moving to the front of the line. It looked like he was going to play guide for them again. Kitty wondered why he chose to do that every time. They always made him take care of the other horses and what ever other chores they decided that they didn't want to do. Why did he put up with that? Was he truly that lonely that he would take their mild abuses just to be around people? That thought bothered her greatly. He could be annoying and infuriating, but he never seemed to mean any real harm. Perhaps she ought to give him a second chance.

Bobby glared darkly at the Cursed demonic man known as the Nightcrawler. At the moment he was regretting naming the thing and accepting its help. Now he wouldn't leave them alone. Every time they left a city he would pop up out of nowhere and lead them to their next target. It didn't matter to him that the Nightcrawler had yet to steer them wrong, he was growing very tired of the blue one's near constant presence. And it appeared that things were getting worse.

Now Kitty seemed to have developed a tolerance for the Cursed German. It hadn't even been a full day yet and already he could see a difference. She was no longer as short and cold with him when they spoke. And when they spoke it wasn't an argument, they simply talked. She now was allowing him to sit closer to her without growing visibly irritated as she had before. They were getting along very well and that really irritated Bobby. How could she trust a man that still refused to reveal who he really was? Hadn't he known them all long enough to trust them? Nightcrawler was hiding something important and Bobby was going to find out what and why…