Chapter 12 – The Children of the Beast

Wrath and pain. The three-pronged consciousness of the beast howled inside the flesh and bone caskets that housed its fragments; the delicate, foolish little cubs that were part of her and something wildly different.

One lay broken, bleeding out the scarce life-force that humans were assigned. Another was wailing, the fortress of her frozen feelings already melting and cracked. The final little thing stood there silently, the fragile structure of his inner being unraveling. They would all perish without her help.

The beast sniffed her enemies carefully. In a flash, their stories were displayed before her; the female had been born the same night a lightning strike torn down the most ancient tree of the forest near her castle. The spirit of the tree fled into the child's body and merged with it. The beast sneered. Plant magic. She had burnt many plants in her time, it was nothing to worry about.

The male was a very different kind of creature. The son of a human and a lesser fertility demigod, no less. In theory, he was more dangerous, but the beast didn't sense much fighting spirit in him.

"Kill the woman," said the green mage to the half-breed. "The peasant is mine."

Two of the beast's throats roared, and the clearing exploded in flames. The cub holding the sword jumped forward, straight at the green witch, while the other produced her bow and shot a volley of arrows at the middle of the clearing. Tendrils of flame, all that remained of the beast's claws, erupted from thin air, gouged the earth and shielded her cubs from the iridescent vines. The green mage screamed.

The little fragment swung his sword, almost cutting the plant witch in half. At the last second, the half-breed pulled her out of the reach, and the blade just scratched her belly. He jumped around with the woman in his arms, avoiding the arrows and tendrils of flame. With one arm, the scruffy half-breed swung blindly trying to keep the sword at bay; whenever he could draw a breath, he sent an earth-shattering roar at the children hounding him, uprooting more trees with the powerful gale of his breath. Almost by chance, he managed to wing one of the cubs; she lacked the necessary mobility to evade him properly, due to the nature of the weapon the saint had bestowed upon her. Her tiny body rolled around, until she collided with a tree trunk.

The remaining cub cried out madly, drawing all the power his connection with the beast granted and wrapped himself in a tight cocoon of fire. Like a raging comet, he slammed against the plant witch and the half-breed, sending the female flying into the air. A purple bubble caught her within its walls; the figure disappeared from sight as the witch surrounded herself with vines, trying to crack open her prison.

Her cub and the half-breed squared off, a single multicolored sword against many teeth and claws. The beast again supported him against the enemy, gnawing and scratching with her tendrils. Still, her cub was inexperienced and tender. He would end up defeated, if she wasn't careful.

Wake up, daughter. Wake up, thrice-sliced-self. Save your lover. The beast nudged her fragment, lapping her face with an invisible tongue, nuzzling with her invisible snout. Save us.

The girl pushed herself against the tree, gasping. Little by little, she regained her footing, while the other part of her kept bleeding, while the other part of her was knocked off his feet by a gust of enchanted wind. The pink bow appeared before the little fragment and she fired it straight into the open mouth of the half-breed, as he took in air to strike again. The half-breed howled horribly, his innards scalded. Only his divine parentage saved him from being instantly turned into ash. He ran away scratching at its throat, more or less in the direction of the creek. Even if he survived, he would be incapacitated for a long while.

Well done, now crush the green mage.

The two fragments held hands and watched the ball of fire brimming with writhing vines. For the first time, the beast sensed some dissension between the parts wholly herself, and the thoughts of her cubs. Her sweet male cub didn't want to kill the witch, no matter what she had done to his brother. On the other hand, the female cub simply wanted everything to be over, and her family to be safe. That was a line of thought much more understandable to the beast. Why did humans forget so easily that protecting their own mates and litters came before everything else? But it wasn't the moment to ponder about it. The vines were sucking up her energy. The beast doubted the witch's plant magic was capable of successfully siphoning her flames, but the resulting explosion could damage the cubs. It was time to end this.

One of the beast's arms rose and gripped the pink bow. Mother and daughter prepared and launched a single arrow at the bubble of flames. Meanwhile, the son strengthened the bubble, before he even knew what he was doing. The result was that the arrow penetrated the barrier easily, but the wall contained the inferno of flames inside. Vines and witch were consumed in an instant.

One of the beast's mouths screamed in anguish and the male cub pushed her away, disgusted. The beast fought back indignantly to be heard, to educate the silly little thing, but she had spent too much energy directly influencing events. For the time being, she had to go back to sleep.

Stay safe, parts of me.

Gakupo and Luka fell to their knees dizzily, grasping for each other until their bodies merged in a tight embrace.

"Did you feel that?" Gakupo asked, out of breath. The air leaving his mouth seemed very hot against Luka's cheek.

"Y-yes…" Luka replied; her memory of the previous moments was already losing its contours, but the identity of the presence guiding her movements was obvious. The beast was still active in some capacity and it had chosen to help them, for some reason.

"We are her and she is us," Gakupo muttered. Then, his body tensed again. He stood up shakily, pulling Luka along. They both stumbled towards the ruins of the hut.

Kaito was laying on top of a small mountain of debris. His long white coat was in tatters and covered in dirt and blood. Luka's heart pounded with fear, with the sight of his labored breathing and ashen skin. Before she could turn to Gakupo for comfort, he released her hand and crawled over the ruins of the hut, to kneel at Kaito's side. He leaned forward, to rest his forehead against Kaito's, with his long hair spilling around their heads. For a moment, Luka felt like an intruder, but the feeling dissolved almost immediately. Kaito and her had supported each other all this time, with no else to turn to. Her place was right next to him, saving him. As Luka drew nearer, she realized that Gakupo was whispering words at a barely audible volume. She leaned in, placing a quivering hand over his head. "Gakupo…"

Gakupo raised his head mechanically, as if he was barely aware of who and where he was. For the briefest of seconds, Luka wondered what would happen inside of his head if Kaito didn't make it. But she pushed the thought aside immediately.

"Gakupo, that box you brought with you, can anything inside help us?" Luka barely had time to finish the question, before Gakupo's eyes re-focused and a spark of hope animated his face.

"Yes! My potions!" He looked around and began to stand, when suddenly Kaito reached out and grabbed his hand.

"No…don't leave…" Kaito croaked, gurgling blood between his words.

"I'm not going anywhere." The reassuring warmth Gakupo was trying to inject into his speech did little to mask his rising panic.

"Don't leave me…" Kaito's voice was becoming softer and softer, and Luka could sense he was incapable of comprehending Gakupo's words.

"I'll look for the box," Luka offered. She examined their surroundings. The front room of the hut was completely gone, and the dividing wall between it and the bedroom had collapsed forward. But the back wall was still partially erect; if she recalled correctly, Gakupo had placed the box alongside their backpacks, leaning against it. So she crawled towards the back, wincing as the rubble cut into the skin of her hands and legs. Behind her, Gakupo resumed muttering, only slightly louder than before.

Luka dug, pulling chunks of adobe and plaster out of the way, sending dust flying into the air. After a torturously long minute, her fingers ran into one of the backpacks. Luka pulled and pulled, grinding her teeth, and managed to lift it from the rubble. Next to it was a small wooden box, one of the few things Gakupo had brought along. Luka placed the backpack aside and dug out the box. With it under her arm, she returned to Gakupo's side. "Here, here it is!"

Gakupo freed his hand from Kaito's grip, wincing when their friend whimpered feebly. "Let me see it, Luka." He opened the box, revealing a padded interior lined in velvet. Small vials were lined in two rows and secured by ribbons, with four small pots on each corner of the box. Gakupo took out two of the vials, looking at Kaito with concern. "I'm not sure he'll be able to drink this…" He fingered one of the pots, thinking. "Open his shirt, Luka."

Luka obeyed quickly. Now it was her turn to wince. Even though she knew nothing of healing, the dark tones on his skin were unmistakable. Gakupo placed the vials back in box quickly and grabbed one of the pots instead. He unlidded it and sunk his index finger in the paste inside. "I can do this. It's going to be alright."

"Of course," Luka said soothingly, squeezing his shoulder.

"This might hurt a bit, please try to bear it," Gakupo said to Kaito. Again, Luka wasn't entirely sure he fully understood what was going on…though the same could be said of herself. She had never witnessed magically-assisted healing, after all.

Gakupo began tracing complex figures on Kaito's chest using his finger, leaving crimson lines on the skin that vanished after a few minutes, as if swallowed by his body. Gakupo hummed under his breath, the tune growing more complex as the minutes passed. Kaito's body twitched a few times, with pained moans escaping his lips, but he made no attempt to stop Gakupo or move away.

"That will take care of the worst damage," Gakupo said finally in a weary tone, leaning against Luka. "In a couple of hours, he'll be ready for the potions."

"That's…pretty impressive," Luka replied, caressing his hair.

"Verdigris gave me a good education." Gakupo let out a hollow little laugh, then rested his hand on Kaito's forehead. Their friend smiled despite his obvious pain. "The spell-work will make him sleep while he heals." Even as he spoke, Kaito's eyelids began to flutter and close.

"Can we move him? We need to get away from here," Luka asked.

"It's not ideal, but you're right. Verdigris monitors our life signs; with Blanca gone, he's definitely going to know something's up," Gakupo replied, looking around. "We'll have to use magic to get away."

"I…I don't know how to do that ball of fire thingy," Luka said guiltily. Despite her best efforts, all she seemed to manage was shooting things.

"I'll take care of that. I just need a moment to gather my strength." Gakupo waved his hand over the box. "This is tiring work."

Luka nodded. "I'll dig out the other backpack while you take a breather." She returned to the back of the destroyed hut, gaining a new bruise on her knee for her efforts, when she bumped into a thick piece of adobe. Not thinking, she cursed out loud.

"Are you alright?" Gakupo's voice questioned from behind.

"It's nothing!" Nothing was the right word. For whatever reason, her friends always ended up suffering more than she did. At least, that left Luka relatively unscathed to help them.

Maybe I should go back to the creek and get the rest of our things, Luka mused while digging out the second backpack. Both Gakupo and Luka were barefoot; she was wearing only her sleeveless black dress, without anything underneath; likewise, Gakupo was wearing only his pants. However, the possibility of running into the beastly creature they had just faced down there made her dismiss the idea. They'd have to replace the missing things later.

"Luka, we need to go," Gakupo said suddenly. He was staring off in the distance. Luka strained her ears, but heard nothing. She decided to defer on his instincts.

Luka quickly shouldered one of the bags and dragged the other back to Gakupo and Kaito. Gakupo hooked the handles of his potion box with a strap that was folded inside and hung it across his chest, then put on the backpack. He stood and extended his hands before him. With a flash of light, a ball of purple flames formed around the trio, and they floated upwards inside of it.

"I won't be able to defend us if someone comes," Gakupo warned her.

"I'll shoot down anyone who tries," Luka replied, producing her bow.

The ball of fire ascended past the trees, then started moving towards the mountains to the north, picking up speed. Anyone looking in the direction of the forest would be able to spot the luminous sphere, but it couldn't be helped.

They travelled in silence, with the ball of fire almost brushing the top of the trees. Gakupo kept his eyes closed, with his arms spread out in front of him. Luka watched the sprawling city behind them constantly, but it still took her a while to notice the change when something did happen: at first, Luka confused what she was seeing with a plume of smoke from one of the flying machines sailing the skies. But the odd black cloud was definitely moving in their direction.

"Something's coming!"

"What does it look like?" Gakupo asked without opening his eyes.

"It's like black smoke, but it has…things…moving inside of it. It doesn't look like birds or anything like that…" Luka said, squinting.

"Arevalo!" Gakupo said, and for a moment the bubble of fire wavered around them. They descended several meters, bumping against the cusp of several trees before he raised them again. The trees below began to burn. "We're finished!"

"Focus on getting us out of here!" Luka yelled. "I'll make sure she doesn't come near us."

"You don't know how powerful she is!" Gakupo screamed back. "Maybe if I offer to go back, she'll let you go!" Again the ball of flames traced a drunken trajectory.

"No! Just concentrate on keeping us steady!" Luka produced her bow and pointed it to the encroaching cloud of smoke. Although they were in a clear sky in daylight, the nature of the shadowy things inside of their pursuer was still unclear to her. Despite her best efforts, Luka began to feel a rising discomfort in her gut. What were those beings? How was it possible that she could discern no features at all? In the back of her mind, she recalled Kaito telling her of the invisible shield surrounding the man they knew as Verdirrama. Could it be something similar at work, muddling her perceptions?

Whatever the case, the cloud was gaining on the trio, fast; there was no chance of them reaching the mountains before it caught them. Putting aside her unsettled feelings, Luka aimed and shot. The arrow of flame travelled the air between them and the cloud leaving a scorching trail…

...and the cloud parted and allowed it to pass harmlessly, to fizzle out in the distance.

Luka held back an exclamation of surprise, to keep Gakupo from becoming distracted. Gnashing her teeth, she launched several arrows in tow, not even pausing to see the effect, just aiming in the general direction of the cloud. To her horror, all her projectiles were avoided. The blackness crept closing in, undeterred.

Nonononono….She shot again and again, and each time her hands shook more. The cloud of black smoke was almost upon them.

And then abruptly, the bubble stopped. Luka turned around, in time to see Gakupo's defeated expression. Before she could urge him to keep going, they were engulfed in darkness.

Some indeterminate time later, Luka opened her eyes. To her surprise, she found herself sitting down on a comfortable sofa side to side with Gakupo, inside a dimly-lit, richly-decorated bedroom. Luka was wearing a frilly nightgown, and Gakupo a long tunic and loose pants, and both had fuzzy slippers on. The sofa was next to a huge canopied bed; Kaito was under the scarlet covers, clean and bandaged. The three of them had red ribbons tied around their necks.

Gakupo stirred and look around in fear, before opening his mouth to ask her something. Then, a bizarre expression crossed his face, and he touched his lips. Luka tried to ask him what was wrong, and found that no sounds left her mouth.

It has to be this ribbon! Luka tried to pull it loose, but before her fingers could touch it, the fabric seemed to escape her grasp. She pawed at it unsuccessfully for a while, then tried the one around Gakupo's neck, but the effect was the same. She rose to try the one on Kaito's neck, and almost fell forward, when a sudden wave of dizziness and fatigue coursed through her. Gakupo caught her and with marked effort pulled her back to the couch. They sat in an embrace for a while, looking at each other, until Gakupo jerked his chin towards the bed and Luka nodded. They had to see if Kaito was alright. With slow, measured movements, they rose supporting each other, and little by little they crossed the negligible distance between the couch and bed.

With a voiceless sigh, Luka grabbed one of the bedposts. She climbed onto the bed, her head spinning, and helped Gakupo do the same. They sat over the covers, and Gakupo examined Kaito. Judging by his expression, whoever had taken care of Kaito had done a good job. Still, he mimicked drinking something, perhaps signifying he wanted to give Kaito one of his potions. Luka looked around the room, but there was no trace of his box or their backpacks. Gakupo touched her arm and pointed towards the nightstand. One of the vials was there, over a small tray, together with two squares of chocolate and a folder paper. He crawled clumsily towards them and picked up the vial, ignoring the other items. After examining the vial, he returned to Kaito's side, and tried to rouse him by touching his face.

Her curiosity spurred, Luka grabbed the folded paper herself. It was a scant two lines in beautiful handwriting, written with red ink.

'Don't worry, I already gave your friend the first dose of the potion.

Eat the chocolates (one for you, one for the girl) and get some sleep. You are safe here. –A'

Luka frowned. What was going on? She turned and showed Gakupo the paper, just as he was pulling Kaito into a semi-reclined pose to simply pour the potion down his throat. He eyed the vial, then the chocolates in the tray, confused. After some consideration, he returned Kaito to his prone position, and pointed towards the chocolates, then to his mouth and Luka's.

You can't be serious! Luka thought, shaking her head. No way.

But Gakupo carefully leaned past her and placed the vial back on the tray, taking the chocolates in his hand. He gave them a sniff and nodded, then popped one in his mouth and chewed. Luka gaped at him, giving him the perfect opportunity to push the remaining chocolate inside of her mouth. Luka struggled, but Gakupo covered her mouth and nose with his hand and pulled her close with the other, forcing her to swallow, all the time looking at her with an apologetic smile.

Maybe he is crazy, after all. As the chocolate dissolved in her mouth, Luka began to feel very drowsy and light. One look was enough to see Gakupo was experiencing something very similar. He laid down next to Kaito, pulling Luka along until she rested her head on his chest. She barely had time to decide she was going to be very cross with him when they woke up, before she closed her eyes.

Arevalo watched the trio from the shadows. As she had hoped, Gakupo had sensed the primary effect of the sweets. Now, the potion mixed with the chocolate would mask their presence from Verdigris' senses, which meant she could hide them under his own nose without repercussions. What he probably failed to notice was that the potion would also allow her to speak directly to the being inside of the youngsters.

She was, quite honestly, intensely curious. The beast of Arjavanda was very similar in some ways to her father; she might even know where he was. So she congealed herself into physical form and moved in closer. To normal eyes, Kaito, Gakupo and Luka were nothing but young humans, piled together on a bed. Aside from the odd coloration of their hair, and being more attractive than the norm, there was nothing special to them.

But Arevalo didn't have normal eyes. She could always see things no one else could, even as a child. So it wasn't surprising that a very different picture was superposed over the simple image of three friends sleeping.

It was vast and horribly dismembered. It barely made sense as a living creature, and in a sense she wasn't alive, even as the fur moved up and down in an imitation of breathing. She was never going to roam the world again, burning it with her breath, but she was more than a ghost. She had a will and could exert it over the land.

Arevalo felt some nausea, as she took in the unblinking eyes, the dripping fluids, the bundles of tissue bunched up together in an unsettling parody of limbs. The long threads tied around the fragments of the beast's being were a pearly grey, and the woman realized with a jolt what she was seeing. It was the frayed remains of a human soul, the soul of El Gris, trapping the beast and keeping her from dispersing into the void.

The thickest concentration of the threads was in the place where in the normal world Gakupo slept. The ends of the threads were tied around a luminous object in his chest. Now that she could finally see the complete being, it became clear what he was: the heart of the beast. Just as Arevalo came to that understanding, a booming voice reverberated inside her head.

Harm our cubs, and we will rend you to shreds, shadow girl.

Arevalo kneeled and bowed respectfully. "Lady Beast, please forgive my imprudence. I have no wish to turn them to their adversary, I only wanted to speak to you privately."

You are with child.

"Yes, that's true," Arevalo replied hesitantly, with a little color in her cheeks. For her, it was quite a big display of emotion.

He will be shadow, like you.

Arevalo lowered her head. Admittedly, she had hoped the child would be a simple human, like Balthazar. But the mere fact that the beast would offer the information for free shocked her.

You cured our cub and for that we have rewarded you.

"Thank you, thank you, Lady Beast!"

We will grant you yet another boon, for the kindness shown to our little fragment during his stay in the city of mages.

The voice paused for a moment, but before Arevalo could state her question, the beast continued.

There's a distant place, sometimes engulfed in a darkness full of screams, sometimes bathed in white blinding light. Under the glittering ice, lies a labyrinthine city. Your father lies sleeping in the center of the maze.

Arevalo stood with an impulsiveness that would've shocked almost anyone that knew her. "He lives!?"

He lives. Stay out of the coming conflict, and your father will sing lullabies to his grandson in his crib.

"We'll leave, I promise!"

Get our children out of the mage's country first.

"Yes, of course!" Arevalo's eyes shone with hope. "I'll prepare everything they need for their journey." Bowing again, the woman melted back into the shadows.

The beast watched the shadow girl go, laughing inwardly. She couldn't lie, any more than the rest of her kind could. It was one of the powers that only humans, diabolos and demigods could wield. But that didn't mean that she couldn't withhold some information. The shadow king and his grandchild would meet, but it would cost the shadow girl everything she loved.

Whatever the case, it wasn't her concern. All that mattered were the beautiful cubs she had birthed with the saint. With some luck, the escape of the shadow girl would distract the warmage long enough for them to get away safely. And even if he opted for chasing after the cubs, he would have one less minion to carry out his orders.

Satisfied, the beast washed her children's faces with her disembodied tongue before going back to sleep.

Kaito felt like some enormous hound had used him as a chew toy. However, at the same time, he felt pleasantly warm and calm; it probably was the effect of some medication, given that he was carefully wrapped in gauze, and he vaguely recalled Gakupo applying some kind of ointment on his wounds.

The thought of Gakupo made him lazily open his eyes. He found the young man right next to him, laying on his back. Luka was curled at his side, resting her head against him. Both were covered by a thick blanket. Kaito smiled, mentally elevating a prayer of thanks. He had no idea how they managed to defeat the two monsters and get away, but Luka and Gakupo had done it.

'What happens now?' Gakupo's voice inquired in this mind; a fairly good question to be asking at this point. Kaito was almost completely sure Gakupo would agree to save Oto, despite everything. It was in his nature; the same gentleness that made him so lovable. But after that? What would life bring to the three of them? He wasn't sure what to think of Gakupo's words from the previous night. Not only he had offered to lay with Kaito, he was asking him to stay around, intruding in Luka's and Gakupo's happiness! And that phrase…

'I love you, part of me.'

A strange idea began forming in Kaito's mind, despite every instinct of his telling him how crazy it was to expect something like it. Luka would never agree to such an unusual agreement, even if was even interpreting Gakupo's advances correctly…nevertheless, the future was looking unexpectedly bright. After that horrible night two years ago, he was certain he would never touch Gakupo again. On the contrary, Gakupo had given him both his forgiveness and his love, all in one night.

Kaito smiled and propped himself on one elbow, long enough to take Gakupo's other arm and curl it around him. Better than my muffler, he thought with some humor. He then mimicked Luka's pose on the opposite side of Gakupo. Completely at ease despite the dull ache of his chest and limbs, he examined the room around the bed curiously, noting how luxurious it was.

A little too luxurious…Kaito began to grow unsettled, the more he observed. No inn looked like this; even taking into consideration the sack of money Gakupo had taken with him when they fled. His suspicions grew when he realized the other two had red ribbons around their necks, and he noticed he was wearing one as well. He went to give it a tug, but his fingers slipped off, without making contact with the silky fabric.

He gave it another try, and by the time his fingers closed on air again, he had his answer; they were all under a spell. Kaito sat up and tried to wake up Gakupo. To his shock, he couldn't produce a sound. What's worse, neither Gakupo nor Luka reacted to his touch.

"They are going to sleep for a few hours more. And so will you, after your second dose," a woman's voice startled him. Kaito looked around the dark room, and noticed two red lights in one corner. The lights moved closer, and a lump of shadow formed around them, later becoming a beautiful woman with red eyes.

Kaito lifted a hand and tried to summon the blue shield, but nothing happened. He stared at his hands with bewilderment, before turning a menacing stare towards the woman. He leaned towards the sleeping pair, shielding them with his body.

The woman tapped her own white neck as an explanation. "That was just a precaution; I didn't want to attract the attention of the palace. I don't intend to deliver any of you to Verdigris, I promise." She moved towards the nightstand and took a small vial between her fingers, before offering it to Kaito. "Drink this."

Kaito stared at the woman, unmoving.

"It's just a healing potion, Gakupo brewed it himself."

Kaito made a rude gesture at her.

"Oh, alright," Arevalo replied and then cleared her throat. The next words out of her mouth resonated strangely in the air, like when Gakupo addressed the crowd on the street from his carriage. "Gakupo, wake up please."

Gakupo immediately opened his eyes, and his eyes lit up when he saw Kaito was looking down at him. He gently moved Luka aside and sat up as well, placing his hands on Kaito's shoulders and staring at him with a smile.

"Your friend doesn't believe that I'm just trying to help." Arevalo explained. Gakupo's eyes turned towards her, with a questioning look. "Make sure he drinks this." She handed him the potion and added before disappearing, "please go back to sleep when he does."

Gakupo uncorked the vial and presented it to Kaito. The young man looked at him skeptically, but clearly he wasn't going to get an explanation any time soon, although Gakupo looked pretty confident that the woman was trustworthy.

I guess she could've killed us already if she wanted, Kaito thought. With a shrug, he took the vial from Gakupo's hands and swallowed it in one gulp. As soon as he did, Gakupo lay down and resumed sleeping. Kaito curled up next to him and waited for the medicine's effect to kick in.

By the time the trio woke up, they were in a well-lit room. It was elegant, but it clearly belonged to a hotel or inn of some kind, probably in a big city. Gakupo looked at the walls and the paintings around them, with a sense of familiarity. He wasn't completely certain, but it looked like an inn he had visited once with Arevalo and Balthazar, just north of the mountains. Evidently, she had kept her word.

Gakupo sat up and touched his neck; the scarlet ribbon was gone. On one side of him, Luka was rubbing her eyes. On the other, Kaito was poking at his own chest cautiously. Neither had the ribbons anymore.

"How do you feel?" Gakupo asked to Kaito.

The blue-haired young man startled, then smiled. "Ah, I'm fine; surprisingly so."

"I'm so glad to hear that."

"What happened?" Luka sat up, running a hand through her hair. She gave the room a questioning look.

"I think Arevalo brought us to Teolene, just past the border to the north," Gakupo explained.

"Why?"

"She's always been kind to me, although I wasn't sure that sympathy would be enough for her to defy Verdigris' orders." Gakupo twirled the hairs on the top of his head in his fingers, a mixture of disbelief and relief in his features. "I guess it was."

Luka shook her head, apparently not fully satisfied with the explanation. Then, the noticed the row of new backpacks and Gakupo's potion box, all lined neatly next to a wardrobe. She jumped out of the bed and went to investigate them.

"So I guess we are safe for the time being?" Kaito asked, reclining back against the pillows.

"I guess so. But as soon as you feel strong enough, we should head east for Shinwa." Gakupo replied. He nodded approvingly at Luka when she opened the wardrobe and discovered a new gown for her, in the dark colors she usually preferred.

"We are saving Oto, then."

Gakupo kept his eyes on Luka, and her examination of the wardrobe. "Verdigris once asked me if I hated them. I told him I didn't know. I think I do, now."

"You're still going to fight for them, despite of that?"

"I don't see it quite like that, but I suppose that in the end, that's what it amounts to. Yes, I'm going to fight for them, and save them if I can."

Kaito squeezed his hand wordlessly and Gakupo squeezed back with a sigh. Almost imperceptibly, the tension that had always ruled his life was beginning to dissolve.