Chapter 22
Ryu's mouth opened and formed the words, but his brain wasn't sending them fast enough. His hands fumbled through the snow in the air and then settled to the collar of his cloak, which he gripped tight. Again, silent mist flew from his lips.
Nina gazed back at him through stringy partially wet blonde hair with wide tear filled blue eyes. Her cheeks began to flush and she reached up to grasp her own collar. Her lips parted again and his heart pounded harder.
"R...yu..." She spoke again in that tiny voice he thought he would never hear again. "I..." The expression on her face changed to one of discomfort and she lowered her head.
Without hesitation, Ryu walked towards her, reached out, and grasped her shoulders tight. She jumped slightly. "Nina...you can speak!" He whispered excitedly. "This is amazing! Deis said you wouldn't be able to speak for weeks and here you are...!"
"It...hurts...but I can do it...." She formed every word as if she were speaking them for the first time.
The smile he had faded. She was still crying and now, she was shivering. "Did you come...all the way out here to...talk to me?"
The mass of honey hair nodded and then looked up, matching his gaze. Ryu's cheeks suddenly felt hot, but he resisted the temptation to look away. "I'm...sorry..." Her voice cracked.
A look of bewilderment crossed his face before he shook his head. "There's no need for you to apologize! I mean..."
"I...have not..." She took a deep breath and started again, wincing as she did so. "I think...I was just...confused... About here...about everyone..." Her blue eyes shimmered. "About...you..."
His expression softened and he let another smile creep onto his lips. "Nina...dear, dear Nina... I know how this all seems to you, but I assure you...I'm not going to the Tower to purge the races." He leaned down and she felt his mane of dark hair caress her shoulders. "In fact...I don't even know if I'm the one that will receive the powers..."
Her brow furrowed. "I...but Deis said..." She coughed and Ryu lent a helping hand in keeping her balanced.
His emerald eyes traced the darkening skyline. Black clouds were settling in and the snow was falling down harder. Behind Nina, her large wings shook violently, shedding dozens of feathers to the ground. He pulled her close to him and opened the front of his cloak. She blushed when he wrapped it around her. "I think we'd better finish this conversation back at the cottage. It's getting to be quite a snowstorm, don't you think, Nina?" He asked, squinting as the wind picked up and sent bits of snow onto his face.
Cheeks flushing, she nodded slowly.
* * *
Despite the fact that he hated the Taneuma clan, Shyong couldn't help but to notice the kind of leader Greytall was. The men he had with him never questioned his orders, nor contradicted any of his opinions. He had...total control over every single one of them.
He remembered back in Valcomn, when his father told him of the ancient clan; men with the bodies of a human and the majestic head of a stallion. There weren't many; there wasn't any way a race with that kind of strength could survive. They were thought of on almost and equal level to the dragons and were twice as likely to be destructive. Shyong brought his hand to his forehead. He thought the last bit of them died out years ago, back when the humans tried to kill everything that didn't resemble them. He guessed Greytall's family escaped the tragedy.
"Alright now, I want to go over everything one more time." The stallion bellowed. All eyes, human or not, met his. He stretched out his long lead colored arms, the muscles rippling in the coming moonlight and then crossed them over his barreled chest. "Hahn and Tikail will take care of the two sentries on the front towers. An old fashioned sleeping spell should do the trick, but I want you both to be as silent as cats, you got it?"A man and a woman, both from fox-like clans and dressed in tribal type furs and coating nodded and crouched low to the ground in front of the group.
Greytall swung his gaze over to Yhon, who stood with his new woren tail squishing back and forth excitedly through the piles of dead leaves on the ground. "Yhon here will gain entry in his current form, and bring with him 'men of distress', soldier boy here and Mustadio." Shyong nodded accordingly.
The Taneuma smiled a row of pearly white teeth. "As soon as they pass the town gates, I'm assuming the front guard will send for Juun. Tsunaia will take him hostage, and then the rest of us storm in afterward." He walked to the edge of the cliff and placed his gigantic hands on his curr pelt covered hips. "We'll be greatly outnumbered, but they won't do a thing if their leader is in danger. Now, does this all sound good-?"
"What about Weretiger?"
Greytall turned to see Shyong cross his arms and smirk. "What about it?" He snorted, angry at being interrupted.
Shyong's smirk quickly disappeared. "You mean to tell me you aren't worried about the Woren boy transforming into that beast?"
"You mean to tell me that you are worried?" Greytall almost chuckled. Shyong cocked his head. A Taneuma laughing was a rather odd noise.
Yhon bounded before the fuming soldier. "Everyone knows that Worent's Weretiger has yet to complete his rite of passage. In fact, there is no better time than now to stage an attack on this village!"
Shyong blinked. "Rite...of passage...?"
The blue eyed Woren nodded vigorously, his ears twitching. "Yes, yes! His father is elderly and cannot control his inner beast anymore than the young one can! He wouldn't dare transform when he could very well go berserk! It's a once in a lifetime opportunity!" He spoke fast and with a high pitched voice.
"Worent boasts power, even in the 'Weretiger-less' times, but they are just a stupid brawn driven clan. Strategy to them is just flailing fists around like madmen!" A boy piped up in the crowd of warriors.
Shyong glanced over at Mustadio who nodded in agreement. "They're right. I saw Red transform in the bar while in a tiff with the dragonboy. He couldn't control a single movement he made. He still has guardians to help him, for the Goddess' sake."
"But...even then..." Shyong's mouth closed when Greytall's large fist went into the air, signaling everyone to silence.
"The sentries are starting their rounds, we must hurry if this is to be done tonight." He brought his rumbling voice down to a barely audible whisper. Shyong watched, as the clan of fighters nodded almost in unison and clenched his fists tight.
"Right..."
* * *
High in the cloudless sky, the moon, full and bright, illuminated the dew covered forest of Worent in a beautiful blanket of light.
Through that light, barely a scuffle was heard, as four dozen men glided down effortlessly into the night.
A single ice blue eye widened maliciously.
* * *
"Was I born with the power to control Ladon? That...I do not know."
Loud pops and sizzles commenced as Ryu draped his and Nina's snow soaked cloaks over the now roaring fireplace. He paced around the room a bit and pulled his hair up into a crude knot on the base of his neck. "Sattva must have frightened you with talk of purging the races." His voice lowered and he glanced over.
Nina, now in a dry pair of clothes, sat hugging her legs on the bed. She laid her chin on her knees and lowered her eyes. "Red...was the one that talked of purging..." She whispered. "Your master only seemed like he approved of it."
Ryu couldn't help but to smile a little. Her voice was getting stronger every time she spoke. So maybe she was just scared after all...
She shook her head slowly. "I...just don't understand...well...I mean Deis told me..."
"Sattva hates any other race besides ours. He always has been that way, but you have to remember something, Nina." His smile widened and he touched his chest. "I'm the one that is gaining the powers, not him. I have the right to choose what to do with them."
"...but what will you do? Red told me there was a rumor that my father was going to start another war of the races...That he was just looking for an excuse..." She looked up and slightly narrowed her eyes. "Is that true?"
Ryu turned towards the fire and extended his hands over the flames to warm them. "About that...I..."
"I don't think he would." She interrupted. "There are tons of the castle staff that are not human or Windian, I mean..."
"It doesn't matter. Sattva allowed you here. He's taken in others before. That doesn't change his opinion on things."
"But..."
Ryu turned sharply to face her, the shadows from his long bangs dancing on his tan cheeks. "I'm not trying to blame your father for anything, or call him a bad person, but did you not know of the executions?"
"The...what?" Her eyes widened and she let go of her legs.
The dragon closed his shining emerald eyes. "For years, Windia has been prosecuting members of other races for petty things. Just like when they threw me in the dungeon just for being a dragon..."
"They thought you stole from me."
Ryu shook his head. "I've heard similar excuses from other prosecutions. If they find out that you are neither human nor Windian, they..."
"But you're being hypocritical!" Nina cried and he stared hard at her. "Isn't Drogen the same?"
"What do you mean?"
She looked down. "That Skylar girl attacked me today."
"...What?!" He cried, alarmed.
"She said it was what the whole village wanted. Me dead that is..."
"But that's not..."
Nina brought her gaze to him. He noticed the edges of her eyes start to shine. "Don't you understand? Getting the powers of Ladon isn't going to help anything! It's just going to make things worse! You...you're going by the prophecy!"
She watched his blue brows come together. "Prophecy?"
Nina nodded, placed her hands on the bed, and rose to her knees. "Yes! You're just fulfilling it! Whoever gets the powers of Ladon...that makes you the descendant, right?" She asked with wide eyes.
"Yes...but..."
"Then...when a descendant of Ladon comes, so do the others! The Goddess...Weretiger...it all fits!"
"...Nina, I don't think..."
She shook her head, her usually side swept bangs falling over her eyes. "No, Ryu, don't you see? You'll have to do whatever Ladon wants you to do and what if the prophecy calls for the races to fight? If all the descendants show...won't it be just like before? The descendants are, Deis said, the deities coming here in flesh and blood; to walk amongst the believers!" Her blue eyes widened and shone in the flickering firelight. "Ryu...it's exactly what they want. You'll be Ladon's puppet! And the Goddess...I can't fathom how her descendant shall be if she's really as horrible as Deis described her..."
Ryu crossed his arms and smiled slightly. "Well...you've certainly taken in a week's worth of information in your time of silence."
"...No...only today. I spent the rest of the week confused..." She said sighing and falling back into her sitting position.
He walked to the bed and sat down next to her. "I don't want you to worry...I'm not going to be Ladon's puppet. The descendant's have minds of their own, you know."
"But Deis said...she said that there are no written records of any known descendants so how could you know?"
He reached up and cupped the side of her face in his hand. Her cheeks flared. "I know...because I have faith. It's all you can have in this world."
"Faith..." She whispered tearing her gaze from his beautiful emerald one. "I don't know what that means...I've been so...naive."
"No, you've just come across too much information in too little of a time. It's a shock, I know...but..."
"It just doesn't seem like anyone has any sense anymore! I don't understand why you would even need Ladon's powers! I mean, the world is going to hate your race even more if you gain more power...I just don't...and..." She looked back at him. He had yet to remove his hand from her still flushing face. "...I just don't want my father to get hurt. He's a horrible man...but he took care of me. Regardless of the way I hated him keeping me there like that...He did it for my protection. He did it because it was the only thing he knew how to do. I just... I don't want a war. What if he..."
Ryu brought his other hand to one of her shoulders and gripped it tight. Her wings fluttered slightly. "Nina, I promise you...Nothing will happen to your father. Powers of Ladon or not...I want to change this world without violence, but you see..." He leaned forward, causing another wave of heat to rush over her face. "When I transform...I feel bits of my soul crumbling. It feels as though my humanity is sifting through my fingers like grains of sand. I can't control my actions, I can't control my heart..." A small smile came to his lips. "I'm no better than an animal in that state...and with his guidance, with the power...I can control it. I will finally be able to think clearly in that from. Unlike that time..."
She tried to turn away, but he kept her firmly facing him. "...You scared me that night..." She murmured.
"I didn't mean to."
"I've never..."
Ryu slid his thumb over to touch her lips. "I want you to listen to what I have to say now, alright? No interruptions." After a moment of hesitation, she nodded and he smiled.
"On my way to Windia, for the first time...I was a different person. Eager for power, eager...to please Sattva. I didn't care how it happened. I just wanted to get past Windia and to the Tower.
"But I didn't expect to meet you..." He brought his voice down to almost a whisper. "...you...changed my life. Whether you know it or not, you did... I met you and realized...that power wasn't everything. Here you were, naive and weak, yet you had a heart that I...envied.
"Sure, Deis probably told you that no matter how much Sattva tried to get me to hate the other races, I did not, but I didn't love them in the way you did. I pitied them. I was stronger and had the power to destroy them, so therefore, they were below me. I felt sorry for their weakness, and so I felt the noble thing to do would be to protect them And while that's not entirely wrong...it's not the right way to go about things.
"You...on the other hand...loved them because you knew nothing else. They had never done anything to you, so why should you care? You...who would nurse a ravenous curr back to health if it so needed it, even if you knew when it was better it would devour you.
"You..." He moved his hand to the back of her head and slid his fingers into her hair. "You stayed friends with a dragon...even though he had the power to destroy you..."
Nina's eyes widened went he grasped her hair gently. "...You can't...judge someone by what they are...not when you didn't know who they were..." She spoke slowly. "I...I couldn't hate someone...that took me from a place where I felt like I didn't belong, and stay with me...as a friend...as someone who cared so much..."
She shallowed hard when he placed his cheek on hers. "You trusted me after you saw it. I knew I couldn't let you go after that."
For a minute, she just sat there, not moving, not making a sound. She had spent a week hating him...hating everything he was doing...everything he said, but now... Her heart was pounding so hard against her chest she felt as though it would explode. All the old feelings were back. The ones she used to feel back when they were traveling and she would catch him staring at her. Feelings...like her whole body was on fire.
With each breath that he took, with each bit of warm air that would touch her ears, her wings would shudder. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate...tried not to tremble so much...
~"It sure seemed like you enjoyed it...Why were you trembling so?"~
"I can't help it!" She suddenly whispered through gritted teeth.
Ryu pulled away and stared at her with wide emerald eyes. "Nina...are you...alright?"
She reached up and grasped the black cloth on his shoulders. Taking a deep breath, she shook her head and looked up. "How do you think...that made me feel...?"
"How did what make you feel?"
Her vision became blurry with the coming of tears. His expression hardened. "That night...over the lake." She whispered softly. "You were so cruel to me... You had never been that way... I was... I was so scared, I didn't know what to do..."
Ryu brought both of his hands on either side of her face, intertwining his fingers within her hair. "I told you...the dragon, he..."
"'he?'" She sobbed gently.
Holding her face steady so that the only way she couldn't look at him was to close her eyes, he spoke slowly. "The dragon entity is a bit of Ladon himself. His spirit lives within all dragons, but only a few are able to harness the powers of it. It is a totally different personality, though. One of animalistic nature."
She blinked and tears fell. "A different...personality?"
"It is, but it isn't at the same time." He sighed. "It's like...it takes the worst qualities from me...and emphasizes them. Such as...anger, hatred, lust... It's just the way the dragons were back in olden times. The superior race...
"It frightens me that I'm not fully able to control it. That is another reason why I want to meet Ladon. I want to know why I am cursed with this... I want to be able to be myself when I'm in that form. I want to...think clearly."
"I wanted to tell you before, but I was so afraid..." He shook his bangs back from his eyes. "The dragon...hates it that I care. Whenever I change, he speaks to me. A loud voice, full of hatred for everyone and everything. He only wishes for me to destroy. I've resisted this long...but it's getting harder...I...
"He wanted me to take you. He wanted me to destroy Tsunaia. He wanted me to destroy Windia. He..." His eyes closed. "...He also wishes for the purging of the races."
Nina gasped and her tiny hands grasped his shirt so hard, they trembled violently. "No, you can't be serious! But...how...? Why...?"
"I'm not going to let him have his way. I've been stubborn for a long time, Nina. I didn't want to tell you, because I didn't want you to worry, but now... I'm not so sure if it even matters anymore."
"...I want to get back to Windia. I want to tell my father everything, I want him to..."
"No!" Ryu cried suddenly, shaking her. "He must not know about anything! If he does...that will give him a reason to start a war and if the dragon is forced to fight...for long periods of time...I..."
"...won't be able to control it..." Nina almost mouthed. "Ryu..."
His expression softened and he narrowed his eyes. "Nina...I care too much about you to subject you to all of this. I don't want you to meddle. Staying out of everything is the best thing you can do for yourself, and...for me."
"But, why?" She moved her hands to grasp his wrists. "What if I can help? Why did you teach me how to fight if all you were going to do is tell me to stand back and watch?" Hot tears welled up and Ryu looked away. "I can't bear to see you fight any longer! What if we run into Tsunaia again? What if he...tries to kill you? What if...?"
"I'm going to get you someplace safe."
"What place? What place is safe now? Windia? Worent? I don't understand!" She pulled away from his grip and narrowed her own eyes maliciously. "Why do you even bother with me if there is nothing I can do for you? Why do you think I can make a change if you won't let me try?!"
Ryu sat in silence, his eyes glued to the ground.
"Answer me, Ryu! Why do you..."
"Because I'm in love with you."
Nina's eyes widened and her heart skipped painfully. He didn't move his gaze from the floor. Blood went to her cheeks and she resisted the urge to lie down. Everything...all her feelings...all the pain...everything suddenly seemed...irrelevant. Why...? Was that why everything was happening? All the suffering...everything he ever did for her? Was that...
"You...what...?"
He slowly turned to her, his eyes suddenly dark in the dancing orange firelight. "I can't have anything happen to you... I...care...and you are the only one who can keep the dragon where he belongs. You...because I feel the way I do."
"I..."
"I've never had any feelings for anyone before. No one here trusts me, because of the way I feel about the world. No one on the outside trusts me because I am a dragon, but you... You care, and I don't know why."
He clenched his teeth. "At first, it pissed me off that I didn't know why I was so confused. I just kept getting more and more confused why you were so nice to me. Were you after something? Did you really care that much about a dirty, filthy dragon-born man?" He let a small smile creep to his lips. "I've always thought Windians the most beautiful of the races, and now that I've actually seen one...I still feel that way."
Nina bit her bottom lip and matched his gaze. Her hands shook and she felt them become clammy. What...did she feel about him? He was just staring at her. Should she...? But what in the world would she say? She...
Her eyes went to the floor and unconsciously studied a few large cracks in the ancient hardwood. "I've...had a lot of time to think of how I feel about you, Ryu." She started slowly, cheeks flushing. "When I first met you...I didn't know what to think. I had never really sat and spoken with a man before...Sir Tsunaia hardly counts for that.
"I will admit that I was afraid at first, when I found out that you were a dragon and it's not because I didn't want to be with you. It was because even after the beast showed up, I still wanted to."
She reached up and ran her hand through her hair. "My father never really talked to me about anything. Most of the time, he spent telling me things I couldn't do. I remember a time before I met Tsunaia. I used to talk to some of the soldiers back then, and sort of make friends. I was so young...they would let me run around while they were practicing.
"One day, on my twelfth birthday I think it was, a rookie soldier named wanted me to walk with him to go get some practice weapons. He was a young boy, about fifteen I guess, long brown hair, bright blue eyes, very handsome. Well, anyways, I agreed and we went to gather the weapons." Nina suddenly smiled. "He gave me my first kiss when we got to the storage shed."
Ryu laughed gently. "At age twelve?"
"Everything would have been fine, except for the fact that Lucia saw."
"Lucia?"
Nina's smile faded. "That's my father's assistant and my teacher. She's a Woren from somewhere far to the west...past Worent I think." She shook her head. "Anyways, she saw...and told my father."
"What did he do?"
She turned to look back at him. "The boy was put in the dungeon for I don't know how long..." A small sigh escaped her lips. "I think he might have eventually been executed."
Ryu's eyes widened. "For...a kiss?"
"I doubt Lucia made it sound so innocent... My father then took me aside and screamed at me for a good hour. I remember running from him and crying. He said...that no one, especially not a soldier boy, was worth even my glance." She suddenly blushed and looked away. "I guess the point of that story was to tell you, or show you rather, why I was so scared when I first met you...scared of what I was..."
"Scared you would feel something for a 'commoner'?"
She shook her head. "No... I was scared for my father."
"...Why?"
She brought her knees to her chest once again. "He tries...he really does, Ryu...to give me what he thinks I should have. If I...if you and I..." She laid her chin on her knees and closed her eyes. "His name could be ruined."
"That hardly matters!"
Nina's eyes went open. Ryu was now standing and staring at her with wide, intense eyes. She narrowed her eyes. "Ryu, you shouldn't yell like that..."
He swung his hand out and clenched his teeth. "I yell when I care about what I'm saying! So what about your father? If you cared that much...wouldn't you have just stayed?"
"I was scared to stay!"
"But you were also scared to leave..." He placed his hands on his hips. "I don't think you know what you want..." He spat.
"No, I do know what I want!" She cried.
"Then what? What are you here for, your majesty? What could you possibly want with me when I could ruin your father's 'good' reputation?" His voice was mocking. Smirking, he reached behind him and pulled the knot of hair on the nape of his neck, allowing the long blue locks to tumble messily over his broad shoulders.
Nina took a deep breath and hugged her knees tight. "I want...to be with you."
Ryu leaned down and placed his hands on either side of her on the bed and brought his face down close to hers. She felt his hair drape over her. "I want to hear why." He whispered softly, in a low, throaty voice. "I want to hear the words from your mouth, Princess Nina. Tell me...why?"
As she stared, deep into his bright fire lit green eyes, she felt her body become numb. So, she really didn't care anymore about her father's name, or for the sake of Windia for that matter, but what she did care about...was her future.
A future...with a dragon? Had that ever been accomplished? He said his dragon side was almost a separate entity... How could something like that even begin to be reliable. In the long run...Her eyes threatened to tear away from him.
"The dragon..."
"The dragon what...Nina?"
Again, she bit her lip. "I..."
He moved closer. "Yes?"
"...I want to be with you...because I want to help you. I want you to control the dragon. I don't want you to be afraid anymore...and I don't... I don't want to be afraid anymore." She swallowed a lump in her throat. "Ryu...you..."
She stopped and watched, with wide unblinking eyes, as he leaned forward and brushed his lips on hers. Blood rushed to her cheeks and her hands went to grasp his shoulders as his snaked through her hair. "That...is what I wanted to hear."
He moved to kiss her again, but was met with a lip that was trembling terribly. He grinned and pulled her against him. "Nina...you don't have to be afraid anymore...I promise that I'll do everything I can to fix this world, but I can't do it if you aren't with me. I need your support, your faith..." He leaned in until his nose touched hers. "Doesn't matter what kind of faith...I just want you beside me, alright? I don't care what anyone thinks. I care about you...and that's all I'm going to worry about."
Through tear filled blue eyes and a flurry of feathers, Nina's lips found sanctuary on Ryu's.
* * *
Tick. Tick. Tick.
A page turned.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
A bushy red eyebrow rose and trembled in annoyance.
Tick....Tick...Tick...Thump.
"Will someone turn off that stupid clock?! How can anyone read with that damn racket going on?"
On the other side of the room, settled deep within a forest green armchair, Gabe poked his gray muzzle over an Herbal Medicine book he was indulging in. Red was standing with his fists clenched and shaking, staring hard at the book he had tossed angrily to the floor. The dog man sighed and put the book back in front of him.
"Do I have to do everything myself?!" Red cried walking over to a large grandfather clock and throwing open the glass case. Muttering curses, he reached in an fiddled with the gears. The ticking slowed down and then stopped altogether. He crossed his arms and nodded at the clock with a sort of satisfied sneer and went back to his fallen book.
"You really shouldn't mess with your father's things like that, Red."
The Woren snatched up his book and fell back on the chair while propping his feet on the arms. "Listen, I can't concentrate with noise going on. You should know that."
"He's going to be angry with you."
Red's crimson eyes focused on a picture of an ancient claymore on one of the pages in his book. "Can't be any more angry than he already is."
Gabe turned a page. "So when would you like to try again?"
"I thought that was you and the fox's decision."
"I was just wondering. I mean, I don't know how Deja feels, but I would rather not be your guardian until I'm an old man."
Red looked up from his book and stared hard at the cover of Gabe's. His eyebrows pulsed. "You know, you're never nice to me, Gabe. What the hell is your problem? You mad because you have to guard me? Well then don't guard me anymore. I don't need you or the fox, so if you two are just going to bitch all the time then I really don't need you."
A page turned.
"You talk too much."
Red thought about slamming the book down again, but then realized it would be pointless. Gabe never cared about anything. You could yell at the man and he would just stare at you. It never made any sense to Red how he could be that way. If someone yells at him, then it was pounding time. "Well you..."
Suddenly the door to the study flew open and Deja ran in, her violet eyes wide. She slid to a stop in front of them and grasped her knees. "Red...Gabe...." She gasped.
Red stood up and Gabe put down his book. "Hey fox, what the hell are you running around for? Something wrong?"
Gabe placed a hand on his partners bare shoulders. She gasped a bit more and then peered up through her long black hair. "It's Juun..."
"Father?!" Red clenched his fists. "What's..."
"There were some travelers...He went to see them but..."
"But what?!" Red cried throwing out his hands.
"The bastards are holding him hostage or something and are screaming something about a Windian!" She cried standing up and tossing her heavily jewel bound hair behind her.
Red's crimson eyes widened and he took a step back. "Someone...looking for Nina?"
"That Tsunaia guy she told us about..." Gabe whispered.
"Well, come on! What are you guys waiting for? We have to go help him!" Red cried. He clenched his teeth when Deja shook her head. "What do you mean, no?!"
"Red...there's around forty or so men out there...and...a Taneuma..."
"So?!"
"Red! Think a minute!"
The Woren closed his eyes and reached up, grasping his black tipped ears and pulling at them hard. "Whatever! There's no time to think about this! Giant horseman or not, I have to go after my father."
"...But it's dangerous..!"
Red's face suddenly went wooden. "Listen, Deja... We have to at least go out there and tell them that Nina's not here...that way maybe they'll let him go..."
"...or kill him, Red. We just can't..."
His red eyes darkened. "We have to try." And with not so much as a flick of his tiger striped tail, he disappeared out the door.
"Gabe!" She cried throwing her hands up in exasperation.
The dog man lifted his red robed hands to his chest and crossed them. "He's right. We have to try. Juun's strong, but I don't think... Plus...we need to find out what these men really want with Nina..."
"What if he's stupid and uses it?"
Gabe looked back at her and flashed a toothy grin. "All the more reason for us to follow...Am I correct?"
"But..." She stopped and brought her wide purple eyes to meet his hair covered ones. She clenched her slightly fanged teeth and stomped the ground once. "Damnit...I guess you're right. The kid's an idiot, but we swore to protect him..."
"Now that's the spirit." Gabe replied still smiling.
She watched his red robes disappear out of the door and sighed to herself. "...Why does everything have to happen to us...?"
* * *
The marvelous energy! Determination...love... He could see everything. It was absolutely beautiful!
It would be soon. After all...the power was drawn to him. It had to be. It was a part of him and he...was a part of it.
You can't run away from destiny, no matter how hard you try. Fate binds you.
'Till death do you part...
* * *
"All you Woren bastards need to listen well!" Shyong voice echoed through Worent's town square. He stood on the base of the town's center statue with his right hand swinging high in the air. Hundreds of eyes followed the swirling violet ball that clung to his outstretched fingers as hundreds of feet struggled to stay planted onto the ground. "I really would rather not repeat myself for a third time...but I see you are not willing to cooperate..."
He moved the glowing hand over to Greytall, who stood with one of his large gray hands wrapped effortlessly around Juun's meaty neck. The Woren was lifted off of the ground and was held in place, eyes bulging and feet swinging. The crowd of felines all gasped in unison.
From within a circle formed by Greytall's minions, the Worent guards all made a move to advance, but stopped suddenly when the Taneuma squeezed Juun harder.
Shyong chuckled loudly and paced before the struggling leader. "I mean, you guys...It's not really that difficult. You just hand over the winged woman. What would you people want with a Windian anyways? She's no use to you." His good eye traced over the faces of the crowd as he spoke.
Was "he" here? No... Wouldn't his face start to ache, like the white haired man and Faben had warned him it would? But it wasn't...
"She's not here you stupid bastard! Now let my father go!"
Shyong's head swung back and he automatically smiled. Red shoved through the crowd surrounding the scene and stopped before him in a flurry of dust. He clenched his fists and brought them to his sides, lifting his blazing eyes to glare. "Ahhh...just the man...err...beast I wanted to see." The soldier almost giggled.
Red's eyebrows knitted. "Let my father go...or you'll be sorry...I'm warning you!" His fingers arched and his biceps rippled when they were brought back..
Mustadio walked forward and smiled. "You wouldn't dare...and you know it, Red Warin. You can't control it. Everyone already knows. We aren't afraid of you." He laughed and casually tucked his long green bangs behind his ears.
Red's crimson eyes swivelled to meet his. "You." He seethed through clenched teeth. His arms were starting to tremble.
~Fuck....! I can't do it here. I just can't! Not even with Deja and Gabe around....and he KNOWS it...! So how...?~
Red forced a smile. "What the hell are you doing traveling with a bunch of losers like this? You loose track of your other wimps?" He spat.
Mustadio's grin widened. "Oh, you are hardly in a position to mock, little kitten. You see...my friend Tsunaia here, would love to see his girl again. He's traveled a long way just to see her pretty little face again and I am going to help him. You know why? Because I would like to see her pretty face too." Shyong glanced over at him with wide eyes. Mustadio quickly finished. "And I also came to show you your place. Synesta is not a town for wannabe thugs like you, so stay on your own turf, alright?" He cried pointing at him.
"Wannabe thug?!" Red cried. "I was just having some fun! You have to come all the way out here to tell me you don't like me having fun in another town? What kind of sick bastard are you?"
Mustadio shrugged. "One who cares a lot about the town he loves."
"That don't make no fuckin' sense!" The Woren cried. "You gotta come up in here and hold my father hostage for this petty shit?"
"No, that's for the Windian...which you need to give us right now. You see.." He flipped back his head, his long bound hair falling gracefully behind him. "You'll avoid a whole lot of trouble by just giving us her, and your life. It's quite simple! Then we'll all go home happy. Well...I will at least." Red stared hard at him. Mustadio's grin was unchanging. "I have a lot of money riding on that little girl, so...it would be rather nice if you just hand her over, alright?"
Red's eyes cut to his father, who was still struggling within the Taneuma's grip. His lips curled back into a sneer.
~He's getting weaker... That giant fuck is going to suffocate him! What am I going to do...? Nina's not here! Why can't they just believe me, I mean I...~
His eyes went to Shyong and he suddenly smiled. "What the hell happened to your face, man? Dragon have his way with you?"
As if someone had struck him, Shyong flinched. "What. Did. You. Say?" He spoke slowly and with a low rumbling voice.
"I asked if a damn dragon fucked up your face, mister! Are you deaf as well as halfway blind?"
Deja pushed to the front of the crowd, her violet eyes wide. "What the hell is he doing, Gabriel? Ryu and Nina told us that guy was insane! Why is he making him angry?"
Gabe sniffed the air and then pulled his ruby hood over his head. "He's looking for an opening. Anger can boost strength, but it clouds judgement...Let's just hope he knows what he's doing." He whispered. "By the way, it smells like rain."
Deja's eyes went to the sky. "Have the beads ready."
"I'm way ahead of you."
Shyong's fingers arched forward and the swirling ball of purple mist grew and flashed. Something wet hit the top of Red's head and he glanced up. Thin black clouds swirled in front of the moon and billowed up menacingly. A light mist began to fall. Shyong lowered his head and thunder cracked. The last bit of moonlight flowed over him and his one good eye flickered. "You know where they are...don't you, cat?"
Red smiled. "So what if I do? I can tell you definitely that they ain't here, so why you botherin'?"
The soldier's mouth curled into an eerie grin. "'They ain't here' are they? Then where are they at?"
The plan was starting to fail, both Gabe and Deja realized. He wasn't getting angry. He was too calm...
Red backed away slowly. Lightning flashed and the mist formed into large droplets of rain. Shyong's jet black hair matted to his furrowed forehead as rain ran down his head and into his deep disgusting scars. "Tell me...where are they?"
"I ain't telling you." Red said with a laugh. "Nina doesn't want to go back and I'm sure Ryu..."
"Are they over there?"
Red's eyes followed Shyong's hand, which pointed towards a random cottage. He raised an eyebrow and shook his head slowly. "No...I just said..."
Before he could finish, the soldier fired off the ball of mist from his hand towards it. It careened through the air with an ear piercing scream and collided into the straw-like walls with a thunder that shook the entire village. Through cries and yells and a sudden high pitched laughter, the cottage went ablaze in a violent violet inferno.
"Dear God...!" Deja cried within the panic of the crowd surrounding her.
Red's ears flattened against his head and he turned slowly, back towards Shyong. "What...why the hell did you just destroy..."
Shyong replied with another wave of laughter and leaned back onto the statue. "Oh, isn't this grand? I have you all under my control!" He cried throwing his head back. "I win, don't you see?!"
Greytall cast a worried glance over at Mustadio, who could do nothing else but stare back.
Red's fists clenched and he moved back again. Shyong was beginning to sway now, and the purple spheres of destruction glowed in both hands. The rain fell harder and the disturbing image before him was obscured. He glanced back at the crowds of people. Despite the blaze of undying violet flames roaring behind them, all the village of Worent stood, with sudden wide silent stares at him and Shyong. He clenched his teeth. ~Why aren't they running? The whole fucking city is going to be ablaze if they don't get out of here...!~
His eyes met the worried ones of Deja. They couldn't leave. Not with him there. Not with Juun in the hands of the horseman. There was no way... He cursed himself. ~Damnit! They won't leave because their two leaders are in danger! Damn loyalty!~
Red dug his right foot back into the now damp dirt. "I'm being serious, man! They aren't here! Ryu took her to..."
"Oh, 'Ryu' took her?!" Shyong giggled and waved his arms above his head. "Oh that's wonderful! Do you know why he took her? Huh? Do you?"
"I..."
"Who wouldn't want to be with a Windian? I remember hearing the stories. The dragons stole women like her. Women of beauty, to keep as slaves of passion."
Red shook his head, hard. "What the...what the hell are you going on about? You don't make any fucking sense!" He cried. "They aren't here! So why don't you just pack up your army of freaks and leave this place? There's no need for you to destroy our homes!"
Shyong's laughing suddenly stopped and his grin faded as quickly as it had come. Red stepped back more. What was he doing now? Before Red could even blink, Shyong's hand went out and a flash of purple streaked through the rain soaked air.
A violet explosion. A scream. A thud. More screams. Red's eyes widened.
The Taneuma reared back and grasped his arm, screaming. Crimson eyes went to the ground. There, lying in a lake of dark blood and beneath a twitching gray severed hand, was Juun.
Deja screamed and grabbed onto Gabe. The rest of the crowd seemed to be shocked into silence. The only thing being heard was the cries of Greytall, and the curses of Mustadio. He swung a frightened emerald gaze to his soldier partner. "Tsunaia! What the hell did you just do...?" But he stopped. Shyong wasn't fazed. He just stood there, his image blurred in the rain, disfigured face pointed right at Red and his mouth... Smiling... Ever...so...happily...
Red's heart stopped. His legs trembled. His arms ached. Slowly, he brought a wide shaking crimson gaze to Shyong. The soldier bent his head down, his odd eyes fixed on him through matted black bangs. He lifted the hand that he had shot with to his mouth and licked his finger.
"Bang."
Lightning struck and Red's head flew back. His eyes bulged and flashed fire. The pupils widened and then narrowed to slits while his mouth wrenched open wide. From the depths of his elongating fangs, an inhuman scream filled the air.
* * *
Ryu's ears perked and he jolted up from warmth of his bed, wrestling from beneath sheets as he did so. Nina yawned and glanced at him with widening eyes through tousled hair. She placed her hands on his bare chest and rubbed it gently. "Ryu...what's the matter?"
He pushed his messy blue mane behind him and narrowed his eyes, gazing out of the ice covered window near the bed. He reached up and grasped her hand, engulfing it in his, and squeezed it.
"Red..." He whispered gently.