Chapter Sixty Five

Somehow, Rowen got separated from the others with Sage. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, his head was beginning to hurt. This was so confusing. He heard the roar of of Ruby, and they ducked into a dark spot.

"Do you really believe Cerule, she could be crazy," Sage said quietly to his friend. They had been wandering for hours now.

"Ugh, I don't know, what reason would she have to lie," he answered as he thought about the kiss Baroness had given him. He pushed it out of his head, his feet were hurting and he suppressed a yawn. He needed some much needed rest, even Sage had gotten an hour or two. "If she is from the future, why the hell would I date Baroness?"

"Date? Who says you need to date her to have a kid?"

Rowen looked at his blonde friend, "fling?"

"Could be a possibility."

"Ugh, with her?"

"She's rather pretty," Sage said he looked around and started walking along.

Rowen frowned, "no, she's not. You can date her if you want."

"What you mean is she's not Hoshi."

"She isn't."

Sage sighed lightly at his friend's harsh remark, "doesn't mean things don't happen."

Rowen looked at him wearily and then realized what Sage's look was for, "you know I slept with Bastet."

"I do."

"Ugh," Rowen groaned as he thought back to the woman who had taken place in his girlfriend's body. "Well, would you have slept with her if she came to you?"

Sage turned his eyes to him, "I don't understand..."

"That was the alternative."

"Hm," Sage paused and thought about it again, "manipulative little bitch wasn't she?"

"Very."

"Look, I don't think Baroness is like that," Sage paused as they walked through the endless maze. He wasn't trying to sell Rowen on the Trickster, but he didn't want to stuff out a future life either. "She

is really odd."

"How can you tell?"

"I mean Bastet was super arrogant, and even Raleigh is to some extent, and I dare say Ruby," Sage paused to think over his point. "She seems very contemplative."

"I guess several thousand years does that to you."

"I guess," the blonde answered.

"The future isn't defined yet, Sage," Rowen paused, "what if Cerule is a mistake that was shown to me, to not make again?"

"Are you really thinking like that?"

"I'm just saying, this time stuff is not easy to deal with," Rowen replied as he looked around. "Have you notice that we haven't been attacked once by nether soldiers?"

Rowen stopped and said, "yeah, and the stars aren't right."

"The stars," he paused to look up and scrunched up his nose. "I guess you would know."

Rowen came over to his friend, "I don't mean to be a downer."

"By all means you have the right to," Sage replied solemnly and stopped. "I have no idea where we're going."

"Me either," Rowen agreed, "why would Talpa not attack us with soldiers, I wonder."

"Perhaps he wants to kill us himself?"

"You're a real downer today too."

"Perhaps, its the lack of sleep," Sage shrugged as they trudged along. There was a white glowing light in the middle of their path when they turned. The light turned into a rabbit with big blue eyes and glowing blue antlers.

The rabbit wiggled its nose at the and hopped forward a step to look back at them.

The two men looked at each other wearily and Rowen said, "if you don't know where you're going, any road can take you there."

"Are you quoting Alice in Wonderland," Sage asked and Rowen shrugged. The rabbit hopped one more step and looked back at them.

"We're all mad here," Rowen mumbled and he started to follow the small creature.

Sage shrugged, "aren't we though?"

Rowen tried to catch up to the creature but every time they got close it would vanish and appear a bit further away. It would look at them with its big blue eyes and carry on down through the maze of corridors. It seemed to go forever until the rabbit came to a set of doors. It looked at them curiously and disappeared.

Sage looked up at the black doors, there was a crest for a dragon on it. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"Should we find the others first?"

"We would be too lost to find it again, obviously we were led here for a reason," he answered and Rowen looked at the door.

"Curiouser and curiouser," Rowen sighed as Sage pushed against the large door, and then Rowen decided to help him move the large thing.

The hall was dark but they could see dim lights in the distance at the end. They took and step in and the door shut tightly behind them. Sage looked at him, "don't you dare quote that book one more time."

Rowen rolled his eyes, "I never knew you had a hate for Lewis Carroll."

"It's just everyone quotes him."

Rowen nodded and they started to walk to the distant lights. The hall was tall as well, with low hanging chandeliers that they ran into a first before their eyes adjusted. Rowen felt his orb burn in his pocket, and he wondered if it was because Ruby was fighting someone. He shook the worry out of his head about Cerule. He didn't want to care that she was his daughter. It didn't make sense though.

The lights came closer, and it was too very dimly lit torches. He could see someone laying in the darkness near them, and could see very anthropomorphic features.

"Baroness," Sage said and they both ran over to her. She was laying in a puddle of blood, and her clothes torn so badly it exposed her body. Sage gently rolled her on her back and leaned close to chest, "she's breathing, but barely."

Rowen didn't know if he wanted to be happy or sad about that, "Ruby did this to her?"

"I guess so," Sage said but then he noticed the wounds looked like they had been opened by hand. "I would assume her anger took over."

"Can you do anything," Rowen asked softly.

"Do you want me to do anything?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean," Sage paused to think of how to say it politely. "Do you want to have the possibility that Cerule would exist?"

Rowen looked at the Trickster, "that's not up for me to decide Sage, I don't know why you're asking me. She'll lead us to Hoshi, so we need her alive."

Sage sighed nodded and took off his sweater to press against the wounds on her abdomen, "do you thinks its curious how powerful she was when she first showed up? Compared to now?"

"I don't know, maybe being sealed off from the nether realm does that?"

"That could be it," Sage said as he leaned over her again, her breath was just a cool touch on his cheek.

Rowen looked at the defenseless creature propped up against Sage. Despite being the beast she was, she looked so fragile. He noticed her hands in the dark, there were deep cuts in them the punctured all the way through. He lifted one hand gently into his, she was cold.

Sage looked at him with his lavender eyes, "she's still breathing, but I think her body is shutting down."

There was a large slam and the two noticed the doors at the far end open. The light was blinding but the silhouette was pretty obvious, a dragon.