Author's Note:
Warning, Blood and Gore to come.
Disclaimers in previous chapters.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Kate had tossed and turned all night, unable to get rid of the repercussions of her visions. Despite the fact she could no longer have visions, the previous ones could keep returning. She was exhausted by the time morning and training rolled around.
Neo glanced at her as they dressed, seeing the dark circles under her eyes and the exhaustion-induced clumsiness in her movements. "Are you sure you can train today?" he asked as he watched her put her boots on.
"Yeah, I'm fine," came the reply.
Neo wasn't convinced. He had felt her moving constantly beside him the night before, and even had a few bruises from where she had kicked him. Worried about her reaction, he healed them before she could see them. When she had finished tying up her boots she turned to look at him.
"I'm fine. Really!"
"No, you're just as stubborn as I am," he said, pulling her over to him.
They kissed before quickly getting into their armor. Neo could see she was struggling at times, which was very unusual for her. She allowed him to help her put the armor on, which was even more unusual, before they walked outside together. Troy was not allowed outside during training anymore, and was left in his room to stare at the ceiling. However, unknown to the citizens of the village, he was also working out his plan.
After arriving at the training field, Kate found Celtos and demanded a sword match, which he agreed to against his better judgment. However, she was having a hard time holding her sword and Celtos could easily knock it out of her hand.
"Kai-san, you are not well," he finally argued, kneeling down and setting his sword at her feet. Technically, that action constituted a forfeit, but she knew he was only doing it to spare her further embarrassment or possible injury. Although she found it annoying, a part of her was grateful for his concern.
"Not really, no," she muttered, and set her sword by his feet in the same action before glancing around to make sure Neo wasn't in earshot. "The visions that I had before I passed the ability to you won't go away. They keep reappearing every time I close my eyes."
"Maybe you should talk to Ony-sama about it."
"No!" The answer came quicker than she wanted it to, and she quickly backpedaled. "I-I'm sure they will go away on their own, given time. I don't want to bother Onyx."
Celtos gave her a skeptical look. "Of course, Kai-san."
"I think I'm just going to go back to the house," she muttered, retrieving her sword and sheathing it.
"That may be best," Celtos replied, picking up his own sword and bowing slightly to her.
Kate walked back up towards the mansion, lost in thought. She had a bad feeling about this day, although she couldn't pinpoint why.
After breakfast, Troy knew to put his plan into order. He had remained silent throughout breakfast, listening to everyone else's plans for the day. He learned that Neo was going to go train more while Kate went to the barn. He knew this was his chance. Besides, the Celtic Guardian guarding him wouldn't be too hard to defeat. He didn't look to be too much of a challenge.
Kate was uneasy sitting at the table with Troy, and felt incredibly relieved when she and Neo were allowed to leave. The unease she had felt earlier during the day had not dissipated – if anything, it had increased. Something about this day simply was not right. Now that she had given up her visions, she couldn't tell what was giving her the bad feeling.
"Kojika?" Neo asked as they walked out down the front steps together.
"Huh?" She looked over at him.
"What's wrong? You seem unnerved." He turned away as he asked this, examining a small crack in the wooden handrail running down beside the step.
"It's nothing," she replied shortly, and kept walking.
"Are you sure? Because if you're not feeling well...."
"I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" He said, the concern becoming more and more obvious every time he asked.
"Yeah." She said, lacing her fingers with his.
He smiled and gripped her hand tightly as they walked, almost enough to hurt, but not quite.
"Neo?" The timid query came after several minutes, when they were about halfway through the village proper and towards the training fields.
"Yes?" He looked over at her.
"I...I'm having a bad feeling."
He continued to watch her carefully. "What kind of bad feeling?"
"I'm not sure. Something just doesn't feel right."
Neo stopped and pulled her close, looking into her eyes as if searching for the cause of her distress. Kate just looked back at him before sighing.
"Let's just get going okay?"
Neo was concerned but didn't argue with her. When they got to the training field, Neo cupped Kate's face within his hands and murmured a goodbye before kissing her passionately. Kate held on to him for a moment longer, not really wanting to let him go for some reason. This worried Neo slightly, but he shrugged it off and walked on to the training fields. Kate turned left and walked a few hundred feet further down, to the stables that were Onyx's pride and joy.
- - - - - - - - - - -
In the corridor on the way back to his room, Troy stopped, leaning one hand against the wall, and coughed several times. Seltis, the young Celtic Guardian who had been assigned to guard him, stopped and turned to glare at him.
"What's wrong with you now, outsider?"
Troy coughed again before answering. "I need fresh air is all. I've been stuck in my room without relief for days now."
Seltis nodded slightly, the emotions in his eyes fluctuating between exasperation and relief. Like Troy seemed to be, he was sick of waiting around the Mansion. He gave a short jerk of his hand, ordering Troy to follow, and the two walked out of the mansion. Everyone else had dispersed some time ago. Onyx and Damus had vanished to some unknown locale, Sarah and Celtos were back on the training field, and Veronique was checking the river near the waterfall, nearly a half-mile away, for fish.
Troy took the lead walking down the wide front steps of the mansion, and Seltis – who had protested this assignment for nearly an hour when it was assigned – was more than happy to follow him. They walked past the armory, the village sprawled out on their right and the training fields approaching on their left. After a moment of looking, Troy located Neo at the back of the field, deeply involved in a match with Celtos.
"Where are you going?" Seltis finally asked, as they continued toward the stable.
"I just want to see the village," Troy lied, feigning exasperation. "It's beautiful, and all I've seen of it so far is a dusty field and a few burned houses."
Seltis eyed him carefully for a moment as though trying to see through him before they continued onward. The barn, all polished wood with a grey stone foundation, was a short distance from the training fields, and Troy focused his gaze on it eagerly. He could just make out Kate walking inside. This was it! He moved towards the back of the barn and Seltis followed.
Kate stood inside tack room of the barn, getting her things together for her riding lesson. Gaia, one of Sarah's monsters, was teaching her to ride her horse, Venus. Carrying her tack and a grooming kit, Kate walked into Venus' stall, calling a soft greeting to the horse. The chestnut mare gave a soft snort and rubbed her head against the girl's shoulder. Laughing, Katie slung her tack over the low outside wall of the box stall before turning to rub the horse's face.
"Hey girl." Kate said with a smile, scratching the white blaze that ran down the mare's face. Taking the soft leather halter from the peg outside the stall, she slipped it over the mare's head and used a length of rope to tie the mare to a ring in the wall, ensuring that she would stay still to be groomed and not walk out the door Katie had left open for convenience.
There was a soft thump and a curse from a few stalls down, and Katie heard Gaia fiddling with the latch of his horse's stall. The Knight, an accomplished rider, rarely used tack on his steed, Zephyr, and found it cumbersome when he did. It was used during Katie's lessons largely for demonstration purposes, since it was difficult how to explain the correct position of a foot in a stirrup when one was riding bareback.
"Are you all right, Gaia?"
"Fine, thank you." His voice was slightly terse, which probably meant he was lying, but Katie just shook her head. It was no use trying to pry an admission out of the monster if he was determined not to give it. Shrugging, Kate picked up her currycomb and began to work the mare's back. Venus simply returned her attention to the hay she had been eating, standing still for her master.
As Troy and Seltis made their way around the stable from the back, Troy eyed the rocky surface of the ground and made his decision. Suddenly, and with a soft cry, he fell to his knees on the ground, his face bowed to hide its expression. Seltis, looking infuriated, spun back around to face him.
"What is wrong with you?" Seltis demanded. When he received only a soft groan in response, he bent down, intending to pull the man to his feet.
This was his big mistake. Troy tightened the grip on the heavy rock in his hand and swung it in one short, fast movement. Seltis, caught off guard, was struck hard in the right temple by the brick-sized rock. Unconscious and bleeding, the Elf fell to the ground without a single cry. Troy, looking disgusted, shoved the limp body away from him. A fast look around revealed a large haystack only a short distance away, against side of the barn. Seizing the Elf's wrists, Troy dragged the limp form to the side of the barn and tumbled him into the haystack. A few quick tugs on the hay pulled an avalanche of it down over the Elf, hiding him from view.
"Stupid fool," Troy muttered. A smirk played over his lips as he dusted the hay from his hands. Giving his appearance one last, quick check, he made his way through the back door of the barn.
He entered slowly, looking around to see if anyone else was in the barn but Kate. No one was in sight, and most of the stalls were unoccupied. The horses were turned out unless they were needed for riding during the day. The first occupied stall was the tenth one in on the left, and he glanced in. Sure enough, Katie was there, leaning against the horse's flank as she worked a snarl out of the mare's flowing tail. Smirking, he leaned against the doorjamb of the stall.
"Hello, Kate," he said to the girl's back.
Kate jumped and whipped around, dropping the mare's tail. "Troy, what are you doing here?"
She tried hard to hide the nervousness in her voice, but it didn't work too well. Additionally, she didn't see his guard. That fact worried her far more than Troy's mere presence.
"I wanted to see the stables," he said as he moved over to the open stall door.
Kate watched him, getting more and more nervous by the minute. Something in his eyes was making her wonder. They were darker than usual. From experience with Onyx and Veronique, Kate knew that when eyes darkened, whatever happened immediately afterwards was not generally good.
"Well, here they are. Did Onyx dismiss your guard?" she asked, knowing fully well that Onyx would not have done such a thing.
"Oh, no," Troy answered casually, "he's standing outside there." Moving a half-step into the stall, he waved one hand towards the back door of the stable.
Kate wasn't convinced. He had to be here for some reason. The question was, what was it? Revenge against Neo? Revenge against her? To rape her? The last thought made her jump.
"Are you all right?" Troy asked as he entered the stall and began examining her mare, standing a careful distance from her head. The mare had already put her ears back, showing her displeasure at the unwanted intrusion.
"Fine," Katie answered cautiously as she retrieved a body brush from her grooming kit and returned her attention to the mare's coat.
Venus was slowly becoming uneasy with the strange man wondering around her and her master. Snorting softly, she shifted her weight from foot to foot, shaking her head slightly and ignoring her hay in favor of glaring at Troy.
Gaia, a few stalls down, heard the mare's snort and Troy's voice. Concerned, he used the pendant system to contact Katie, knowing that she had tucked the gem inside her tunic for training and Troy wouldn't see the distinctive glow.
'Kai-san, what's going on? Is he hurting you?'
'He has not done anything yet. Just stay out of sight and don't say anything to anyone.'
'But -'
'That's an ORDER, Gaia!'
The Knight sent a wave of displeasure back at her. Because monsters were bound to obey, he had no choice but to comply with her wishes. That didn't mean he had to like it. 'As you command,' he mentally growled back, and sat down beside Zephyr's water trough so that he would be completely hidden from any eyes in the barn isle.
"Fine horse you have here." Troy said, patting the mare's neck. The mare snapped her teeth at him and Troy took a discreet half-step sideways.
"She sure is. Neo is teaching me how to ride," Katie answered with some pride. Onyx had given the mare to her as a gift, several birthdays before.
The name made Troy cringe. He knew he had to move fast because Seltis would be waking any minute now. He walked closer to the girl, who kept brushing the mare's gleaming coat, struggling to control her fear.
Troy moved behind her and stopped inches from her ear to whisper, "You and I are taking a little trip."
He grabbed her shoulder and spun her around, slamming her back against the side of the stall. The mare gave a startled neigh and reared up slightly, wanting to defend her master, but the rope jerked her head back down, leaving her helpless as her owner was abused. Troy ignored the mare and held Kate against the stall with his arm across her chest. With his other hand, he reached to the sheath on her belt and pulled Kate's dagger from it. The dagger was fine craftsmanship, all silver and sapphires with a folded steel blade. He held it up to the light for a second, admiring the watery sheen of the blade, before placing it against her throat. She kept herself from panicking, meeting his gaze with eyes full of anger and defiance. It was at this point that Kate sent her emotions through the pendant to Neo while telling Gaia to stay back.
- - - - - - - - - - -
Up at the training field, Neo was in the middle of delivering a sharp blow to Celtos' abdomen when he nearly dropped his sword.
"Neo?" Celtos said with concern. "What is it?"
"Something is wrong," Neo managed, although his face had gone dead-white and he was nearly doubled over, struggling to breathe through what looked like extreme panic.
"What are you talking about?" Celtos, aside from worried, was becoming highly confused.
"Kate," Neo gasped as he struggled to contact her.
- - -- - - - -
Troy continued to hold the dagger to her throat, not enough to break skin, but enough to hurt.
"We're going to cause a distraction. You're going to let all of the horses out of the fields, and than we're going to get out of this hell hole." Troy growled, authority ringing in his voice.
At that second Kate felt helpless. Even it he did hurt her, she could always be healed. The problem was, she didn't know if he would he kill her. She couldn't risk Troy slitting her throat. Even Onyx, the most powerful mage known to exist, couldn't bring Kate back if she was killed. The monsters could be regenerated through an ancient enchantment, but she definitely couldn't. This was not going to happen easily.
"Come on," Troy snarled as he pulled her out of the stall.
Venus snorted furiously, rearing the short distance the rope allowed as Kate was pushed out. Troy, sending the mare a vicious glare, slammed the door of her stall shut and bolted it, just as the mare snapped the top strap of her halter. A second later, the mare's chest slammed violently against the door of her stall. Troy, dragging the girl away, left the mare rearing and bellowing inside the stable, knowing that the commotion she was causing would shorten his available time. Katie, looking around desperately, caught sight of Seltis' limp hand protruding from beneath the pile of hay. She sucked in a breath and sent a silent prayer that the Elf was simply unconscious, not dead. She was about to go to him when Troy grabbed her and jerked her away.
"Don't help him. Now get over there and let the horses out now!" He growled.
Kate was pushed toward the gate to the pasture. The horses, seeing someone at the gate, swarmed over to her, expecting treats or petting. With slight hesitation, she lifted the rope over the wood post and swung the gate open. The horses, well trained, stood for a moment in confusion before Troy leaned over and slapped the closest one on the rump. The horse, a skittish palomino mare, squealed and leapt forward, breaking into a gallop as soon as she was clear of the gate. Kate stepped quickly back as nearly two hundred horses came galloping out. Troy grabbed Kate's arm and dragged her away as the herd flowed into the training field and the village beyond.
- - - - - - - - -
Neo dropped his sword, his face paling until it resembled nothing more than a white mask.
"Neo? What's going -"
Before Celtos could finish Neo took off. He dashed across the training field, pushing through people until he saw the horses coming. When he saw the stampede, he froze, shock and disbelief overwhelming his senses. The distraction of the horses and the panic Neo was feeling kept him from tracking Kate's location, and in his desperation he forgot that he could transport. Monsters dropped their weapons and began running in every direction, trying to catch the horses and get everything back in order. Veronique, who had returned only moments before, was running around, shouting orders to her monsters and chasing several of the horses back towards the fields. Neo, stuck on the wrong side of the stampede, found it impossible to get through the tossing river of horses before him. He searched desperately for a way through, but he couldn't risk the chance of getting hurt if it meant delaying his getting to Kate. Anger washed over him as he caught a glimpse of Troy pulling Kate along.
Troy kept the dagger against Kate's throat as he pushed her towards the doorway that they had used to enter the village. He had a firm grip on her upper arm, which he used to propel her along. His face stormy, he pushed her a few steps forward so that she was standing in front of the doorway.
"Open it!" he demanded, turning slightly to keep watch, never loosing his grip on her arm.
"No!" She protested.
Troy lifted his hand from her arm and cracked her across the face, splitting her lips, leaving trails of blood trickling down her chin.
"Open it, or I will kill you."
Kate spoke the words that opened the door and was about to be pushed out when she caught sight of Neo. Troy followed her gaze, and saw the swordsman behind a few horses. Seizing the girl's arm, he pushed her out the door and leapt after her. The instant they had both exited, the door vanished behind them. Propelled by Troy's hand, Katie stumbled through the forest outside the hidden door, her face burning from the earlier blow. Blood was dripping off her chin, but she made no move to wipe it off, not wanting to anger him more.
- - - - - - - -
Neo cursed madly as he finally made it to the door. It wouldn't open for a monster, as they were forbidden from leaving the village. Pounding the unyielding wood of the door with his fists, he gave a scream of frustration. He couldn't save her this time unless Onyx allowed him to go out, and getting her permission would not be an easy task. He couldn't concentrate on anything else at the moment. He could still feel her though and steadying himself, he sent her a message.
'Don't worry Kojika, we'll come for you.'
- - - - - - - - -
Kate heard Neo loud and clear. She knew they would come for her, but she was afraid of what would happen before then. Troy continued to push her along, away from the safe little village she knew as her only home. After a while of stumbling along, Kate became fed up and chose to stand her ground. He couldn't be the best of fighters, or he would have beaten Neo. She stopped and planted her feet in the ground, refusing to move. Troy stopped and growled at her.
"Move damnit!" He demanded as he grabbed her arm.
Quickly Kate took this as a chance, grabbing his arm and throwing her force into it, sending him flying forward to the ground. While he was still dazed she took off as at a fast run back towards Sacelon. She got not more than one hundred feet before he slammed into the back of her, sending her rolling to the ground as he clamped down on her arms. The next thing she knew she was pinned to the ground on her back. Troy straddled her, panting slightly as his glare turned almost deadly. Kate's arms were scraped up from the fall but she could easily heal them.
"You wench!" He roared, and raised his hand, bringing it down across her face with a vicious blow. It caught her across the bridge of her nose, and Kate felt the bone break beneath the blow. Blood spurted out and splashed across her mouth, filling her nose and making breathing difficult.
Kate was in so much pain now that tears threatened to fall, but she refused to let them. She wouldn't show her weakness; especially to someone she had helped and had turned on her. She healed her lip, as she lay pinned under him.
"You won't get away with this, you bastard!"