Prison of Darkness

Notes: Here we go, another chapter. Thanks to everyone who is sticking with this story. I hope you continue to enjoy it. Oh, and thanks to everyone who took the time to review. I've got more alerts on this story than on any I ever published here. That makes me smile. Oh, and for Blooky, no he doesn't really remember being shot and healed. It's just a blur of pain and colors for him. He's so calm because it's been over three weeks for him, though it's only been a couple of days for Kate. Most of the panic has gone out of him by now, and he's settled into a state of lethargy to keep himself sane. To GhostWriterLost, sorry that it's taken Kate so long to realize that she can choose what she brings with her. This chapter is dedicated to GhostWriterLost, Divamercury, lunotto, and Jayce Gish (Did you know I found Jacek's name in a baby book as an alternate form of your username?).

This one's a short one. I hope you like it. Love you all.

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle. I will never own Castle. Still, I have fun taking these wild trips of imagination.

Chapter 9

It wasn't long after dawn when Rick heard someone at the door. A feeling of unease went through him, and his body went still. It was too early for his meal.

The door squeaked open, and he scrambled to a sitting position. His stomach clenched in anticipation and fear. He tried to ignore the way his palms had started to sweat despite the coldness of his cell.

His first impression of the man who came through the door was that he was tall. Not many people seemed tall to Rick. He was six three and even Kate Beckett, who was almost six feet tall herself, seemed small to him.

His next impression was that the man was dressed strangely. His captor was dressed in a full length robe that brushed the floor as the man walked. It was of a dark blue so deep that it caressed the eyes as it rippled with movement.

Rick looked up from the man's robe to the man's eyes and forgot everything else. As a writer, and as a follower of Detective Kate Beckett, Rick had seen a lot of evil faces. He had seen mobsters and serial killers. He had seen child murderers and drug dealers. In all his years, he had never looked into eyes as evil as the ones that stared at him now. Any ideas Rick had of overpowering his captor and escaping evaporated.

"Richard Castle?" The man's voice was dark. Rick had never considered someone's tone as a color before, but he could almost see the blackness float from the man's mouth.

"I am Richard Castle," Rick admitted, trying not to flinch as the man's eyes narrowed.

"You are from New York City?" The words seemed to taste funny in his mouth.

"Yes. Can you tell me where I am?"

The man ignored him to ask, "You are a Shadow Walker?"

Rick's face screwed up in puzzlement. "A Shadow Walker?"

"Are you or are you not a Shadow Walker?" The man's voice filled with soft but cold anger.

"Tell me where I am."

The man moved across the room so fast that he was almost a blur. Rick gasped as he found himself face to face with his captor.

"I will ask you one more time. Are you a Shadow Walker?"

"I don't know what you are talking about. I've never heard of a Shadow Walker."

The other man stared into his eyes, probing. After a few seconds, he nodded, turned, and walked out.

XXX

To Kate's surprise, Kalahn did not object to Nahla's desire to go with them. She just accepted it as fact. The sun had already been up at least an hour when Aizik came yawning into the room. His eyes opened wide when he saw the group around the table.

"What's going on?"

"We're going to breach the Prison of Darkness," his sister told him cheerily.

"We are?"

She laughed. "Not you. Just us."

He frowned. "Why not me?"

"Come in and sit down. We were just telling Kate what's involved in getting to the Prison of Darkness," his mother said.

The Prison of Darkness was several days ride away, after leaving the Old Ways. Kate was concerned about what would happen to her when she disappeared and came back. She wondered if there was a way to attach herself to Nahla and Jacek. Kalahn didn't seem to think this would be a problem. She had said there were ways and that it should be even easier since Richard's spell seemed to have attached Kate to Nahla.

"The most important thing to remember," Kalahn continued after Aizik had taken his place at the table, "is that once you leave the Old Ways you are no longer protected. Can you protect yourself, Kate Beckett?"

Without hesitation, Kate answered, "Yes."

Jacek looked as if he had his doubts. Of course, to him it must seem as if anyone without an arsenal on his chest would not be able to fight.

"Can you use a blade?" Kalahn continued.

"I'm a cop. That doesn't often come up." Then, she paused and said, "I did some fencing when I was younger."

"Fencing?"

"It's with a small, thin blade."

"Like a rapier?"

Kate shrugged. "Sort of."

"Do you think you'd be able to use a blade with sides that were sharp as well as the point?"

"Well, I don't think I'll stab myself, if that's what you're asking. I'd rather have my gun."

All four looked puzzled, so Kate waved it off as unimportant.

"I don't know if arming her is such a great idea," Jacek said, eyeing her warily.

"If you're that concerned," Nahla told him crossly, "why don't you test her?"

"If I do carry a weapon," Kate asked Kalahn, ignoring the cousins, "what are the chances that I'll have to use it?"

"Greater than those that you won't."

"What do you say, Kate?" Jacek asked her. "I'd rather know that you won't cut your leg off rather than waiting to find out that you will. Since I'm officially sent by the Council..."

"I don't care about the Council," Kate told him honestly. "I don't care what they sanction. I don't care how they function. All I care about is Castle. I'm going to go get him with you or without you. That means I really don't care what you think either."

Jacek glared at her with his hard, cold eyes. Kate met him stare for stare. She would not let him intimidate her.

"You'd never get there without me," he said after they had sized each other up.

"Then I'd die trying."

"You talk tough. Why don't you show me what you've got?"

"I don't have to prove anything to you."

"You're wasting time," Kalahn interrupted. "If Kate says she can defend herself, then I believe her."

Jacek just grunted.

Kalahn ignored him and told Kate, "I'm going to make you a charm that attaches you more firmly to Nahla. It shouldn't take long."

She got up and left the room. Jacek got up a few minutes later, shadowed by Aizik.

When they were alone, Nahla asked, "Is Castle your husband?"

"No," Kate replied immediately.

"Your boyfriend?"

Kate shook her head and answered again, "No."

"Oh." Nahla looked down and blushed. "I just thought that if you were close enough for him to bring you with him..."

"We're friends, Nahla. Just friends. And we work together."

"Is he a...whatever you said earlier too?"

"Castle? A cop?" Kate laughed at this. "No. He's more of a creative consultant."

"Meaning?"

"He helps me to figure things out." It was her turn to drop her eyes to the table. "You know, I'm still not sure all of this is real."

"Even with..." Kate raised her eyes to see Nahla wave vaguely at her injured arm.

"Yes. But it doesn't matter. What matters is that it could be real. There is a possibility, and if I ignore the possibility, I could be leaving Castle to his death. That's something I will not do."

"I understand."

"You do?"

"Sometimes doing nothing has too high a price."

"Exactly."

XXX

Kate opened her eyes, feeling disoriented. She had no idea why she was now looking at a ceiling instead of at Nahla's face. The confusion lasted for several seconds before she realized she was lying down.

Sunlight came in through a crack in her curtain. It made a small line of light across Kate's face. She blinked a couple of times, getting used to the idea of being back in her own bed.

She wondered what time it was. A quick glance at her clock showed that she was late for work. She frowned, trying to remember if she had set her alarm. She seemed to remember doing so. Sitting up, she saw that she hadn't slid the button over far enough.

"Damn." She jumped out of bed and started throwing off her pajamas.

She was still changing her underclothes when her cell phone rang. Since she was half naked, she was glad she didn't have a picture phone.

"Beckett."

"Where are you?" It was Esposito's voice.

"I overslept. I just woke up."

"Captain told me to call and check on you."

"Is that Beckett?" She heard the captain's voice in the background.

"Yep."

"Transfer her to my phone."

"Hold on, Beckett," Esposito told her. "You're going for a ride."

Kate grimaced at his joke.

It was only a moment before she heard, "Beckett?"

"Yeah. It's me."

"Are you okay?"

"I overslept."

"You are wearing yourself out."

"I'm fine."

"Did you give any thought to my suggestion from yesterday?"

His suggestion? What suggestion? It slowly came back to her. Personal time. A couple of days. Maybe a week. Time to save Castle. Time to find out if what she did in her dreams could really affect Castle in the here and now.

She wanted to catch Ian Woon's murderer, but she wanted to save Castle more.

"What do you think I should do?"

"It's your call, Beckett."

"Well," She let her breath out in a sigh, "my mind is not really on work. I owe it to the victims to be completely focused, completely there. I need to be able to think outside of the box."

"And?"

"I think I will take a week off. Ryan and Esposito are close to closing the Ian Woon case, and nothing much more has been happening."

"I think that's wise."

"Do you think I should come in today?"

"Let's say your leave has started already."

"Okay, Captain. Thanks."

"Just look after Castle, Beckett."

"I will." In whatever way I can, she added in her mind as she hung up her phone.

That's when she realized she was half dressed with nowhere to go. Actually, she thought as she looked down, she was in her underwear. That made her smile as she contemplated Jacek's reaction if she fell asleep that way. It might even be worth the embarrassment.

Her smile faded as she thought of Castle. She wondered what this Prison of Darkness was like. Was he there alone in the dark? Had Rithisak hurt him? Was he asleep or awake? Was he afraid? Did he even know what had happened? She wished there was a way that she could talk to him.

XXX

He knew where she lived. He had followed her home once and saw her going into the hotel. It wasn't the place he would have expected her to live. Instead, he would have expected a sleek studio apartment. Sleek and elegant, just like she was.

He hadn't seen her with that man again, the one she kissed. This knowledge made him smile. Maybe she was saving herself for him. Maybe she knew how much he wanted her.

XXX

Kate had tried to go back to sleep. She had gotten into her clothes, noticing with a frown that her feet were dirty despite her before sleep shower. She chose sweat pants and a tank top because they were comfortable if not elegant. She even made sure she had a pair of comfortable but tough slippers on her feet.

After an hour of lying there, switching positions every couple of minutes, and listening to the thoughts whirling around in her head, Kate decided there was no way she was going back to sleep. Even though she was exhausted, her nerves were wound tighter than a spring.

Her covers felt as if they were trying to suffocate her. She kicked them off of her body and threw herself onto her back. She tried to close her eyes, but they popped open again, and she found herself staring at the ceiling.

"Screw it," she finally growled and got up.

What she really wanted to do was fall asleep and save Castle. She had already made up her mind to believe. She would believe for him—at least until it was over or she found out she was crazy. It wasn't an easy thing for her, but now that she was committed, she wanted to throw herself into it. The problem was that her body wouldn't cooperate.

Kate began to pace, gnawing on her lip. Who knew what was happening or how much time was passing while she was here stubbornly awake.

Then, she got an idea. It was true that she couldn't sleep in her hotel room. Maybe it was time to do something different. She had just the thing.

She was going to go sleep with Castle.

XXX