Ray yawned and stretched as he returned to the waking world. Instantly he was aware of the fact that he was not in his room and definitely not in a bed. He was in a bedroll and sleeping on the hard, unforgiving ground. For a moment he panicked as the wondered what had happened, but as the last bit of sleep fell he remembered. He had finally been given the go ahead to go to the Thunder Temple, but the Elders had insisted on an escort. They had chosen the famous Falcon, a cold-blooded merc for the important task. He thought that was naïve of them to believe that the merc would continue to escort him if he found out why Ray was going to the Thunder Temple.

No, any merc would stab him in the back for half a chance at the precious item he was carrying. He wasn't as naïve as the Elders thought he was. He knew the kind of cruelty and malice the world was capable of dealing out. He was under no false impressions that he was safe with the merc, not when Falcon already had half the reward. He would be safer on his own where prying eyes couldn't find anything.

Sitting up, Ray looked around and was surprised to see Falcon was nowhere around. Adrenaline shot through his system. This was the chance he needed to make a getaway. He was capable of covering his tracks and given a few hours Falcon would never be able to find him. He quickly got up and rolled the bedroll before attaching it to the saddlebags once more. He was skittish around the horse, but his need to get away quickly outweighed his fear. Thinking quickly he grabbed some of the food from the saddlebags and one of the pots. He put the things in his pack and quickly slung it across his back before sprinting away from the camp.

vvvv

Bryan hissed angrily when he returned to the camp to find Ray missing. He had gone to pick some of the berries he had spotted the previous night. He thought that along with bread rolls it would make for a quick, but filling breakfast. Bryan had definitely not expected Ray to awaken and the last thing he expected was to find him gone. Now he was going to have to waste precious time hunting down the brat before they could get back on schedule. He packed the berries away for a later meal and snatched a bread roll, noting with fury that the neko-jin had stolen some of the food.

He munched on the bread as he made note of Ray's tracks. They were at least thirty minutes old and that didn't give him much of a head start. Bryan made a mental bet with himself that he could catch the escapee in under fifteen minutes.

"Okay, Star, follow at a distance." Bryan told the horse. He knew that she would understand. Like him, she had her own secrets.

With that Bryan turned and followed Ray's tracks. Instantly he could tell it was going to be a little bit more difficult than he had originally thought. Ray was talented at hiding his tracks, but Bryan had been trained by the best. He had been sidetracked a few times, but he was confident he was on the right trail. Ray couldn't hide everything. Then suddenly the tracks stopped. Bryan paused and checked the area, but could find no indication of which direction Ray had gone in. That could mean only one thing. Bryan glanced up at the canopy above and groaned. The neko-jin was traveling through the trees and that gave him no way of tracking his charge.

"Clever cat." Bryan muttered. "I'll make you sorry for this."

He had only taken a few steps when it felt like a claw grabbed his heart a squeezed. He was chilled to the core though it was much different than Ice Magic. The permeating smell of rotting meat could only mean one thing. Shadow Magic. Shadow Magic meant danger for him and for the wayward Ray. He needed to find the neko-jin quickly before anything happened to him.

vvvv

Ray wrinkled his nose as he caught the smell of something rotten. It smelled like something had died several days ago and been left in the open to rot. He glanced around but wasn't able to see what the smell was coming from. With a shrug he dismissed it and bent down to get a drink from the river before him. The water was cool and clean and made him feel better. As he sat back up he caught sight of his reflection and gasped. His quick neko-jin reflexes allowed him to throw himself forward into the river to avoid the attack that seemed to come out of nowhere. He spun quickly and stared with wide eyes at the shadowy figure before him.

It was like nothing he had ever seen before. It looked like a shadow that had come to life and become solid. The black was so deep and cold that it chilled him to the bone. The smell of rotting meat was definitely coming from it. A splash behind him made Ray spin and he found another of the shadow beings behind him. Upon turning back to the first one he found that several others had joined it.

"Uh oh."

His words seemed to spur the things to life and the shadow beings attacked. The water slowed him down and he couldn't quite dodge as quickly as he could have on the ground. The one behind him tackled him as he tried to dodge the one in front and Ray found himself being held under water. He struggled, kicking and scratching, but the beings held him down easily.

Stupid! Stupid zam-kus running away! How could I be so stupid! Ray screamed at himself.

Ray felt his lungs burning and his vision began to go gray. As panic set in he let out the air he had been holding in and took a deep breath. He choked on the water and the fit it brought on only served to make him breathe more water. He struggled to get to the surface, but the cold unrelenting hands on his body held him down.

Suddenly Ray could feel something happening. Two of the hands on his body were ripped away and then the other two followed. He was dimly aware of being pulled to the surface and laid out on the ground. It was only when a fist struck his stomach and he began to cough up an alarming amount of water that he came back to reality. He weakly looked toward his savior and felt his stomach clench when he saw a furious pair of pale amethyst eyes glaring at him.

"You stupid brat!" Bryan hissed, pulling Ray to his feet. "If you ever run away from me again I'll kill you myself!"

Bryan dragged Ray along behind him as he stormed in the direction he knew his horse was waiting. He was absolutely furious. Not just because Ray had runway. Not just because the stupid cat had almost got himself drowned. He was furious because he didn't understand the emotion he felt when he saw Ray being held under the water by those shadow creatures. He wasn't even sure the last time he had felt so angry. He generally kept tight control of his emotions, but this rage was beyond his control. He felt like killing somebody and those shadow creatures didn't count.

"What were those things?" Ray asked, not bothering to try and pull himself free of Bryan's grasp. He didn't want to attract anymore of Bryan's wrath.

"Darklings. Shadow creatures summoned by the Shadow Masters." Bryan replied.

"Shadow Masters? Impossible they were destroyed hundreds of years ago." Ray argued.

Bryan snorted. "Defeated maybe, but destroyed most definitely not."

"What did they want with me?" Ray asked.

Bryan came to a sudden stop and turned to glare at Ray. "That's a question I think you can answer for me. Why is it so important you get to the Thunder Temple? You have something those Darklings wanted and I want to know what."

"I haven't got a clue." Ray replied, though Bryan could tell he was lying.

Bryan stepped forward and snatched Ray by the front of his shirt. He dragged the neko-jin toward him and lifted him off his feet slightly. Ray gasped and his eyes widened as he was pulled so that he was practically eye-to-eye with the vicious merc.

"If I'm going to die I want to know what I'm dying for! Now tell me the truth!" Bryan demanded. When Ray was silent Bryan shook the neko-jin a little more harshly than he meant to. Something popped out of the top of Ray's shirt.

Bryan dropped the neko-jin and stared at the pendant that had been revealed. It was the shape of an eye with silver and gold inlayed on the outer part. Inside a pure green gem of the highest quality stared back a Bryan. The merc was stunned as he stared at one of the most sought after objects in the country.

"The Eye of Drigger." Bryan breathed, reaching out to touch it without thought.

Ray snarled and smacked his hand away. The neko-jin quickly hid the necklace again and glared defiantly at the merc. Bryan blinked a few times to bring himself out of his stupor. His eyes narrowed once more and he took a step back to sit on a fallen tree trunk behind him. Ray also moved a little further away, but didn't try to run. It was too late for that.

"So, that's what this whole trip is about? The Eye of Drigger?" Bryan asked, though the answer was pretty clear.

"I have to get it to the Thunder Temple." Ray replied cautiously. He could sense a shift in his escort's mood. He wasn't sure it was good.

"That Eye is worth a lot." Bryan stated.

Ray was smart enough to get what that implied. The Eye was worth a lot-a lot more than him and his quest. The trade in amount Bryan could get for the Eye of Drigger made his payment from the Elders laughable.

"Good thing for you I have a reputation to uphold. I finish my jobs." Bryan said and he could see Ray visibly relax. "That being said, I don't appreciate anyone making my job difficult."

"Maybe if I didn't feel like you might turn around and slit my throat while I was sleeping I wouldn't feel like I had to get away." Ray snapped. "I feel like it's one step away from a kidnapping."

The hardness in Bryan's eyes softened just a little bit as a smirk crossed his face. "If I was going to slit your throat it wouldn't be while you were sleeping. I would look you right in the eyes while I did it."

"Oh that's comforting." Ray grumbled as Bryan turned and started walking again.

"Just keep this in mind. Next time you run, I won't be so forgiving."

Bryan continued to walk. He had no doubt the neko-jin would follow him after that little warning. He hoped so, because his mind was on completely different thoughts. He had been hired several years ago to find the Eye of Drigger. The payment was substantial. It was ten times what the Elders of Ray's village were paying him for this job. In essence he was being forced to choose between jobs. Well he had chosen already. He chose to go ahead and escort Ray to the Thunder Temple. But why? The neko-jin annoyed him beyond words and the pay was much better for the other job. Why then did he choose to stick with this job?

"When forced to choose between jobs choose the one that feels right."

The voice of Bryan's mentor echoed in his mind. He remembered that lesson very well. But why did staying with Ray feel right? The neko-jin got on his nerves. He tried to run away. He continually insulted his horse and his chosen profession. But there was something...deeper about the young man that he couldn't ignore. It was frustrating and confusing, but in some way not unpleasant.

But a new element had been introduced. The Shadow Masters were after the Eye of Drigger too. They had been laying low ever since their defeat. Any moves they made were discrete and only those in tune with the darker aspects of the country knew that they were still around. Bryan dealt with the darker aspect of the country every day of his life and knew that the Shadow Masters would do anything to get what they wanted. If they wanted the Eye of Drigger it was likely they would pull out all the stops to get it. Bryan wasn't afraid, but he knew things were definitely not going to get any easier.

This cat is going to be the death of me.

OOOO

Thank you to Shadow Vampiress, Butterfly Ishida, Lady Snowblossom, and she-devil-16 for your reviews. Sorry this one is short, the next one should be a little longer.