Courting The Jester

Chapter Nine

It was one of those days that make you cringe and wish that you were home already, but unfortunately the young man walking down the street had no choice in the matter. His head was bent as he hurried along, the hood on his sweatshirt pulled up to try to keep the rain off. The material had long since soaked through, and it didn't keep him dry so much as kept him at a slower increase of wetness. Overhead the dark clouds rolled ominously, but this young man knew that it was only a storm passing through. Instincts that warned him of danger remained quiet. He shivered as water dribbled down the back of his neck, and tried to draw his clothes around him a bit tighter. The rain decided to fall in sheets, pounding the ground around him. Cursing the young man gave up and dashed in the direction of a nearby shop, and the scant protection of the small awning above its entrance. The store was closed, as was the rest of them down the street, so he was forced to huddle against the cold stone of the building's wall, arms crossed and bouncing up and down rhythmically to try to keep himself warmer. He cursed again as the rain continued to sheet, knowing that he would be stuck here for a while. A warrior he may be, but that didn't mean that he wasn't susceptible to colds and fevers and pneumonia like the rest of the populace. He sighed and shrunk closer to the wall, head bent.
The jingle of the store door opening startled him, as did the blonde head that poked out and turned to him.
"Well are you just going to stand there and freeze or are you going to come inside?" a voice asked lightly, the smile on her face taking the sting out of the words. He looked at her in surprise, but the head had already disappeared back inside the store. He glanced at the sign on the window and saw that he was in front of a small bookstore. A large boom of thunder motivated him to follow her inside.
As soon as he stepped through the door, the smell of old books hit him. It reminded him of going with his mother to the huge old library back home, before they had moved to the city with it's newer renovated libraries. He breathed deep, enjoying the smell of his past, then he looked around. It was exactly what he would have expected of a little "hole in the wall" bookstore. Shelves lined the walls, stuffed full of new and used books, shiny and worn covers. A tall ladder leaned against one wall for access to the higher shelves, and sprinkled around the room were old overstuffed chairs, their seats and backs worn with use. They just begged him to sit in them. He couldn't help a small smile of pleasure.
A low growl behind him startled him out of his reverie, and he turned quickly. Resting on the floor was a medium sized dog, scruffy with patchy black and white coloring. He growled again warningly at the young man but remained where he was, one blue eye and one brown watching the intruder carefully.
"Easy," the young man whispered, opening his hands flat at his sides and trying to appear non-threatening. The dog looked like hewasn't buying it.
"Chili quit it," came that same voice, and the girl appeared from a door in the back, a blanket in her arms. The dog barked once then grunted, casting a disparaging look at the young man before turning around and laying with his head facing the other way disapprovingly. He couldn't help but laugh.
"I don't think your dog likes me," he said with a chuckle. The girl smiled and shook her head, walking up to the young man and handing him the blanket. He noticed that she had beautiful blue eyes but didn't seem to want to look directly at him. He figured she might be nervous having invited a stranger into her shop on a day when no one else was around and he tried his best to appear non-threatening to her as well.
"Oh Chili doesn't like anybody. He's a grumpy old man," she said affectionately. Across the room a long tail lazily thumped the floor in a semblance of a wag, with as little effort expended as possible. "But he does his job well. Why don't you dry off, you're probably freezing."
He smiled at her thoughtfulness and stepped to the other side of the room, turning his back to her as he slipped off his soaked sweatshirt. The shirt underneath wasn't much better but he kept it on and wrapped the blanket thankfully around his shoulders. She had already disappeared back through the door, so he wasn't sure where he should put his wet sweatshirt. He finally decided to just keep it under his arm so the water didn't ruin anything. He shivered again, and hoped he didn't end up with a head cold from this. She came back, this time carrying a tray with two cups and a teapot on it. He jumped forward to help her, to take the tray from her, but she didn't seem to expect it and was startled when he tried. She dropped the tray and he deftly caught before too much hot water spilled out. She blushed, embarrassed, and turned away. He tried to smile at her to ease her discomfort but she was already looking anywhere else but him.
"I'm sorry, I didn't-"
"I'm sorry, I was just trying to-" They both spoke at the same time and stopped. Then she laughed, a beautiful light sound and he couldn't help flushing slightly. She was very pretty.
"Sit down," she said, gesturing behind her to two chairs with a tiny end table between them.
"Thank you," he said, trying to remember his manners. Her golden hair caught highlights in the dim light of the room and he found it exceedingly distracting. She sat and smoothed the simple skirt she was wearing, staring down at her lap. He tried to make up for his earlier blunder by making them the tea.
"Thank you for letting me in," he said while pouring the steaming water into the cup next to her. "I didn't expect anyone to be around at this time. Usually the stores are all closed by now."
She chuckled but remained staring at her lap. It was starting to disconcert him a little. He wasn't used to people that refused to make any eye contact.
"Yes well, Chili and I don't get out much and you never know when a customer might drop in." He handed her the cup of tea but she didn't reach for it. Confused he set it back down next to her. She immediately reached for it and took a small sip, now watching the cup.
"This is a nice place here," he tried again, feeling very foolish. "Do you read a lot, then?"
She laughed again and tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. "Yes, I suppose I do." Finally she seemed to take a small breath and looked directly up at him. He was startled at just how beautiful the girl in front of him was, with her brilliant blue eyes staring at…nothing. She was staring at nothing because she was blind.
"What was your name?" she asked him softly. He stared at her for a long minute, then caught himself.
"Cye. My name is Cye."
"Cye." She smiled as she said his name, almost as if she was rolling the word around on her tongue. "My name is Cassie." Then she glanced away again. On impulse he leaned forward and gently took her hand. Her fingers were slim under his, and she didn't pull away. Something inside him twinged and he closed his fingers around hers protectively.
"It's very nice to meet you Cassie…"

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"I can see him. Why can I see him?"

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"Stop it! Stop it, you're hurting him! Stop it! You guys are friends! This isn't right!"
"Friends don't do this…friends…They don't do THIS!"
"Oh god, he's killing him! Stop!"

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Sage woke up with a start, gasping. He sat straight up and looked around him, disoriented. He took several deep ragged breaths, realizing that he'd broken out in a sweat. He leaned forward and forced himself to breath slower, making himself calm down. It was dark all around them and it was another long moment before Sage realized where he was. They were in the cave, deep enough that there wasn't any light that could pierce them here. The dim glow of a lantern between Nikki and Mia was the only source of illumination, casting a greenish tinge to their faces but not making it to the walls. Rowen he could feel behind him to his left. Rowen was awake as well.
Sage turned and looked over his shoulder, picking out his friend's shape in the darkness. Rowen had risen to a sitting position and was going back and forth between staring towards the entrance of the cave and down into the depths of it. Where they had camped out was about a fifteen-minute walk in, the cave barely clearing the tops of Rowen's and his heads. It was wide enough for them to walk abreast of each other, but they had paired off for the sleeping arrangements. Consequently the girls were closer to the entrance of the cave and the guys to the depths of it. Rowen rose and silently moved to where Nikki and Mia lay. He positioned himself between them and the entrance of the cave. Sage silently stood and did the same on the opposite side. He didn't ask Rowen what he was doing or why, he just trusted that his comrade had a reason. He heard a click behind him and knew Rowen had put on his undergear. Sage did the same and then waited. And waited.
Click.
This time it wasn't Rowen. Sage searched for the source of the noise but couldn't hear anything.
Click.
This time it was louder, and closer. Sage cast around, his sharp eyes piercing the darkness around them. He saw nothing except themselves.
Click.
It was right behind him. Rowen cried out a warning just as Sage swung around and found himself face to face with…Kayura? She smiled at him, her eyes sparkling from under blue bangs.
"Hello Halo, it's been a while. Have you missed me?" At the question she laughed and struck Sage a crushing blow in the chest, throwing him backwards into the wall of the tunnel. He grunted as he hit, falling to one knee.
"Come on Ronin, is that the best you can do?" she taunted cruelly. "And here I thought that you had these new powerful armors. Guess I was mistaken." She ambled up to Sage, slowly drawing out twin swords, enjoying the shriek of steel on steel. Suddenly Rowen was between her and Sage, body in a defensive stance.
"Kayura!" Sage gasped from behind Rowen, stumbling to his feet. "What are you doing? You're good now!"
"This isn't Kayura, Sage," Rowen growled. She smiled at Rowen and looked down. When she looked up she had Mia's face.
"What's wrong?" Mia asked sadly. "Don't you trust me anymore Rowen? All I ever wanted to do was protect you…"
"Stop it, witch, or whatever you are!" Rowen yelled. "It won't work!" He lunged at her but the thing deftly avoided his blow and whirled around. This time she took the face of Rowen's mother, caring but distracted.
"Not now Rowen," she said irritably. "I have more important things I need to do." Then she tried to leap past him. Rowen swung around and managed to keep her away from Sage. He kicked out at her and was knocked down. He hit the ground heavily on his back and she leapt on him. This time it was a dark haired girl's face that loomed above him, eyes dark and worried.
"Rowen? Rowen? You don't think that I'm bad do you? Rowen please…" His head suddenly swum with images and feelings.
"Rowen? Please say something! Anything! Just…Rowen please!"
Rowen snarled, confused and angry, and he gripped the thing on top of him and threw it back with a powerful shove. Kayura now laughed at him, her face cruel to behold as she stumbled back. Then suddenly her huge eyes widened even more and she seemed startled. Rowen looked down to see the sword of Halo run through her up to its hilt. Rowen watched the thing shimmer until it became a slim young girl, blonde hair falling around her as she turned on the blade to look sadly at Sage. She reached out and touched his armored cheek gently and Rowen saw Sage's eyes widen in shock.
"Sage, please help me. He's hurting me. Sage…" It shimmered and disappeared. Sage stood frozen, staring at where he had impaled the creature. Rowen stood and went up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Are you okay?" he asked quietly. Sage shook his head, trying to understand the mixture of confusion and hurt and sadness that ripped through him.
"Who was she?" Rowen asked.
"I… I don't know." Sage called off the armor of Halo and stepped back, running a hand through his hair. "I don't know Rowen. But I feel like I have to find out."
"Hey Sage," Rowen suddenly spoke up, voice urgent. "I think we have bigger problems."
"Meaning?" Sage asked, still trying to clear his head.
"The girls. They're gone."

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Nikki fled. She'd been in many battles, she'd seen uncountable horrors, but what she had just witnessed had been too much. Sobbing she ran, not knowing where she was going and not caring. She heard Mia calling her name from behind but she never slowed. Nikki tripped on a rock and stumbled, falling and skinning her right knee. Ignoring the pain, such small menial pain, Nikki staggered to her feet and plunged ahead blindly. She couldn't see a thing, she'd brought no light with her, but it didn't matter what was around her. Nothing could be worse than what had already happened. If something bad was here, what did she care? She didn't care. She couldn't care. She was too tired to care.
She tripped again and fell harder this time, feeling the ground give out beneath her feet. She tumbled, rolling over and over until her foot caught painfully on a sharp object. She screamed, but not from pain. She screamed from frustration and hurt that had been hidden inside her for too long. She beat her fists helplessly into the dirt, yelling at the top of her lungs, hoping that maybe if she tried hard enough she could get those images out of her head.
Mia finally found her, curled up in the dirt, face tear streaked and eyes hard.
"Nikki?" she asked gently, moving closer and lifting her light to get a better look at her friend.
"I don't care. I don't Mia. I don't care anymore."
"Okay Nikki," Mia breathed, using her calmest voice. "Okay. I understand, I really do. It upset me a lot too. But-"
"But nothing Mia! I refuse to be a part of this. I told you. I told you I didn't want to be here! I told you…" Nikki trailed off and Mia edged a little closer.
"Nikki, please. Listen to me. Don't move. Please. Just don't move."
It was the "too controlled" tone in Mia voice that gave away her fright, and it was what got through to Nikki. She was upset, but she wasn't dumb. Nikki froze and lifted her head slowly. Her eyes widened and the blonde girl was forgotten. This time when Nikki screamed she meant it.

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"Don't be scared little girl. It'll all be over soon." He giggled uncontrollably as he played with her hair. The woman began to cry, because she knew it wouldn't.

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"I'm worried Ryo, I think something's wrong." Cye paced by the window, staring outside into the darkness.
"I think you're right," Ryo agreed. He'd been getting progressively worse feelings all night. It had driven him to wander the house, only to find Cye doing the same thing.
"Go get Kento," he ordered. "We're leaving."
"Okay." A pause then, "Ryo? Do you feel that?"
"Just get Kento, Cye."
"Alright."

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"You guys? I want you to meet someone. Everyone, this is Cassie. Cassie, this is Ryo, Rowen, Mia, and Kento. And the guy who just came through the door is Sage."
"It's nice to meet you all…Cye? I can see him. Why can I see him?"

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Rowen heard the scream and started running. He plunged into the dark, stumbling and tripping the way Nikki had until a bright warm glow grew in the tunnel. He knew it was Sage behind him and continued ahead at full speed, now able to avoid the hazards in his way. The walls of the cave had become very tunnel like, and were covered with drawing and glyphs that Rowen didn't recognize. He mentally categorized them as something to figure out later and rushed ahead. The tunnel suddenly opened up into a massive chamber, the walls stretching endlessly away from them. He paused, startled, and glanced up. The ceiling was too high. They hadn't gone very deep underground but the top of the chamber was at least three hundred feet up. Rowen categorized that in the "what the hell?" category and jumped forward. Just ahead of him he saw Mia leaning over the edge of some drop off, calling down. That was also where the screaming was coming from.
Rowen reached the edge and looked down, his blood suddenly going cold. About fifteen feet below, Nikki was crouched on large jutting rock, back flattened against the edge of the chasm, staring down in terror.
"Nikki close your eyes," Rowen ordered. She looked up at him, face pure white.
"Close your eyes Nikki!" he roared. She jumped and squeezed her eyes shut. Rowen cast around and failed to find what he wanted. He called his armor and pulled his bow from his shoulder. He strung an arrow and aimed at the ground about ten feet from where Sage stood, his sword glowing.
"Give me some rope Mia," Rowen said.
"I don't have any," she whispered. Rowen looked sharply at her then groaned. He leaned back over the edge.
"Don't you dare open your eyes," he told Nikki. She nodded and kept them closed tightly. Rowen took off and headed for the campsite, without the benefit of light again. He almost missed where they had dropped their packs but a well-placed stumble found them. He grabbed everything and rushed back. Sage had knelt by the edge and was talking quietly to Nikki. Rowen dumped the contents of the packs on the ground and rummaged through, finally finding a coiled nylon rope. He unraveled it and secured one end as tightly as he could to the arrow he'd buried in the ground.
"Sage," he said as he finished off the knot. "I don't know how long this will hold and you need both hands to keep that light on us. If it starts to slip grab it. We'll deal with the dark."
Sage nodded and positioned himself where he could quickly drop his sword and grab the rope quickly. Rowen called off his armor, leaving only his undergear for protection in case they feel. The less weight on the rope the better, he figured. Rowen wrapped the rope around his hand and gently eased himself over the edge. He clung to the wall for a moment, trying to see if he could climb down without putting any weight on the rope. Unfortunately the rock was too slick where she had tumbled down it and he had no purchase.
"Rowen…" he heard Nikki moan below.
"Relax brat," he joked, trying his best to be as insolent as possible. "You always make a habit of being a pain in the ass, don't you?"
"Bite me," Nikki muttered, looking up at him, then looking down and squeaking. She flattened herself tighter against the wall. "Rowen, hurry. I'm not good with heights."
"I know, Nik, but you got yourself into this, so you're just going to have to chill out and deal with it. Stop being a baby."
"You're really an asshole, you know that Rowen?"
"It's why you want me so bad sweet cheeks."
"Excuse me?" Nikki said indignantly. "Did you just call me sweet cheeks!"
"I know. A bit of a stretch, huh? But I figure the only positive quality you possess is that you have a nice butt. Everything else is a total turnoff. The personality, the language, the self-absorbed conceited behavior…"
"I'm conceited and self absorbed?" Nikki snapped, thoroughly insulted. "This from a man who's head is so big that he has to make sure he's the complete center of attention every time anything ever happens…"
Rowen appeared in front of Nikki and set one foot tentatively of the outcropping. It groaned distressingly under his foot. Nikki stood up slowly, eyes large as the groaning got louder.
"Grab on to me," Rowen commanded. Nikki edged towards him. "Now Nikki!" She jumped forward just as the groaning became a cracking, throwing her arms around his neck and hanging on for dear life.
"Did wou hadd do grad my droad?" Rowen choked, but Nikki only gripped tighter. Underneath them the groaning had stopped as soon as their weight left the outcropping.
"Grad my shoulders. Niddi! Grad my shoulders!" Rowen tried again. Nikki realized what he was saying and shifted her arms a tiny bit, allowing Rowen a minuscule rush of air.
"Damn, girl! You almost choked me to death. Then where would we be? And I don't need to be the center of attention." He started the slow climb back up, thankful his undergear kept Nikki's fingernails from digging too deep into his skin.
"Yeah right. What about the time when you were sick and were all mad that Ryo didn't notice you were better. You threw a little temper tantrum until everyone paid attention to you. That's pretty pathetic."
"That's completely out of context, and I don't even know how you knew that."
"I know everything, jerk." The rope suddenly twitched in Rowen's hand, then it twitched again.
"Sage!" Rowen yelled, just as the rope went slack and they started to fall. The chamber went dark and Nikki screamed. Then the rope snapped them back again, knocking them roughly into the wall.
"I got you Rowen," Sage called down.
"Good, help pull us up then," Rowen grunted. "She's heavier than she looks."
"I swear I will hit you for that just as soon as I'm not dangling in mortal danger over an endless chasm," Nikki warned.
"And you say I'm the drama queen."
"Are we sure we want to pull them back up?" they heard a quietly amused voice above.
"I heard that Mia," Nikki called.
"You were supposed to Nik," Mia replied sweetly. Sage grunted and pulled them the last few feet up and over the edge. Nikki stumbled away and sat down, breathing heavily. Sage grabbed Rowen's hand and helped pull him to his feet before picking up his sword. After a moment the glow returned to the chamber.
"This place is huge," Mia whispered, standing and turning around in a circle. "There's no way it could be this tall."
"Amazing," Rowen commented blandly. "Blows the mind. Now we need to get out of here."
"What are you talking about Rowen?" Mia asked, looking over at him. "This is right where we're supposed to be. Something's definitely here."
"You're right Mia. Something's definitely here, or was until Sage made a ka-bob out of it, and I bet there are more right behind it. We need to get you girls someplace safe. We'll come back if you want, but alone."
"And you would know what to look for how?" Mia snapped. She put her hands on her hips angrily. "I need to be here, and Nikki needs to be here. If you boys want out go right ahead."
"Nikki needs to be here?" Rowen asked incredulously. "Mia, she almost just died. If she freaks out and runs each time there's a fight, then we're going to have a hell of a time protecting you two in here!"
"You're the Ronin Warriors, Rowen! Figure it out! We need to be here, so deal with it." Mia turned angrily away. Rowen wasn't deterred that easily.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Mia?" he demanded, following her. "You were always the smart cautious one. Now it seems like you can't wait to throw yourself head first into danger, and you don't mind who you drag in with you. Nikki could have-"
"Nikki's fine Rowen!"
"But she was scared enough of that thing to-"
"It wasn't the demon," Nikki spoke softly behind them. Rowen and Mia both turned to her. In the dim light Nikki looked much older than she actually was. Her eyes seemed tired. "It wasn't the demon. It was the end, when you killed it. It freaked me out seeing a girl get skewered like that."
Sage had remained silent this entire time, but now he too moved over, looking deep in Nikki's eyes.
"Who was she?" he asked her. Nikki turned away, shaking her head, but Sage reached out and cupped her chin in his hand, bringing her face back to him. The touch was very uncharacteristic of the warrior of Halo, but he didn't release her. "Nikki, who was she?"
She was silent for along moment, but finallyNikki sighed, defeated by those intense violet eyes.
"A girl. Someone I used to know."
"What happened to her?" Sage pressed. "Where is she? Is she in trouble?" Nikki pulled away from Sage and moved away, walking over to where Rowen had dumped the packs out in his rush to find some rope. She calmly started putting their things back inside.
"Nikki?" Sage asked again. Rowen was bothered by the edge in Sage's voice but said nothing.
"I don't want to talk about her. There's no use to it."
"Is she in trouble Nikki?" Sage demanded, kneeling down in front of her.
"Not anymore, Sage. Not anymore." Nikki looked glumly at the immense chamber they were in, and the seemingly impassible chasm in front of them. "She might be the lucky one."

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"Come on White Blaze, we need to find the others. We think they might be in danger." Ryo ran a hand down the tiger's back and watched Kento and Cye climb in Kento's truck. The tiger leaned into Ryo's leg and growled softly. Ryo left the tiger and climbed in the passenger seat. The truck pulled noisily out of the drive and headed down the road. The tiger was torn. He felt compelled to go with his master, to help protect him from the danger he knew they were headed towards. But the danger they were leaving…
He sat on the railing of the balcony, head tilted to the side and legs swinging, watching what the tiger would do. White Blaze looked at the balcony and growled again. Then the tiger leapt off after the truck. He shrugged and disappeared.