?Dynasty??
The word had been playing on everyone?s mind, but no one had been able to pull themselves to the
conclusion. After Talpa?s defeat, the Ronin?s lives had returned more or less to normal. Since then,no one had mentioned, much less even thought the name. And this was everyone?s worst fear. Kayura found that all their expectant gazes had fallen on her. Except for the warlords, who had become unsettlingly quiet since their arrival at the Ronin Manor.
?Nothing unusual has happened recently, unless there?s something I should know about?? She said,
directing the last part towards the silent warlords. Dais was the only one to respond, speaking for all of
them, by shaking his head and returning his leer to the floor to admire the carpeting.
The reply didn?t have much affect; it only left more questions to be answered. Who or what was this
thing and, if not the Dynasty, where did it come from?
?It had to be an animal, like a cat of some sort.? Sage supplied form the couch.
?But there?s no cat large enough to make marks like that, not even White Blaze.?
?White Blaze would never do anything like that, Rowen, and you know it!? Ryo threw back. What
had been left of his patience had snapped the moment they had convicted his tiger.
?That?s not what I was saying.? Rowen remarked quickly.
?Quiet!? Mia was almost yelling everyone fell silent. ?This isn?t getting us anywhere. We have to
figure out if this thing is going to strike again and when. Then you can fight about what it is.?
Ryo leaned back in the chair, defeated, and continued seething in silence.
* * * * *
Cye?s consciousness crept back to him slowly, and the first thing he became aware of was the sudden
change in his surroundings. Afraid, he bolted upright, jarring his injured side. He groaned and lay back
onto the pillows. He finally realized where he was when he had sat up. Cye was home, in the room he
shared with Kento, in Mia?s mansion. He let out a relieved sigh and waited for the pain to fade.
Once it ebbed to the point where he could ignore it, he took another glance around the dark room.
Asleep in an armchair he had dragged next to the bed sometime earlier that evening, was Kento. A
smile tugged at Cye?s lips. His snoring was almost inaudible. The warrior of trust reached out and
weakly shook his knee. After more than a moments hesitation Kento abandoned sleep and slowly opened
his eyes. Immediately noticing Cye, his face lit up to see him awake.
?How ya doing buddy?? He asked, jumping from the chair to his knees next to the bed, he rested his
arms on the edge. ?How do you feel??
Cye smiled at his friends concern. ?I don?t remember much of what happened, but, otherwise, fine.?
?So, I guess, then you couldn?t exactly tell us what happened, how you got those scratches.?
Cye could tell by the look on Kento?s face that his injuries went far beyond just ?scratches?. ?How
bad is it, really??
?Five broken ribs and between each of them a gash, about two or three inches each.? Kento?s face
had taken on a guiltier look.
?Didn?t Sage-? He cut him off.
?He tried,? Kento said in a solemn voice. Seeing the questioning look on his comrade?s face, he
continued. ?But something happened, we aren?t sure what exactly. When he tried to heal you, something
just zapped his power and he fainted. He?s still out as far as I know.? His gaze turned in the direction of
Rowen and Sage?s room. Cye was speechless; a worried look creased his face. ?You should get some
rest,? he said quietly and returned to the armchair.
Cye wanted to keep awake and think about what Kento had just told him, but exhaustion was pulling
back into sweet oblivion. In only a matter of minutes he was once again asleep.
* * * * *
The next day went on without a problem. Kento had helped Cye down to the den so he could watch
TV while he recovered. Feeling useless, he often insisted on cooking meals, which Mia always said she
could handle and threatened to tie him to the couch if he didn?t stay put so he wouldn?t hurt himself any
further. He felt better as the day went on, but he would glance expectantly toward the stairway every so
often, wanting Sage to just appear there and be perfectly okay. But he never showed and Rowen wasn?t
seen at all either because he was up in their room watching over him.
Cye had fallen asleep too easily that night, but Kento just lay there restlessly. He listened silently to
his friend?s slow steady breathing while he thought. What happened to Cye, would that explain what
happened to Sage? What kind of animal would do something like this? The questions only stopped when
he, too, fell asleep.
* * * * *
Cye?s eyes fluttered open and he took a quick, worried glance around the room.
?No, please, not again!? He pleaded under his breath, as he sat up fighting back waves of pain.
Throwing back the covers he stepped out onto the carpeting, which should have been blue but had turned
a hard, depressing, stone gray. Blood ran down the walls like an unfinished paint job, making him
nauseous. Cye glanced towards the bed on the other side of the room; unfortunately Kento was nowhere
to be seen. Crimson moonlight streamed in through the window, beckoning him closer. He opened the
glass door and stepped out onto the gallery.
The moon hung low in a star-less sky and a cold wind stirred making Cye uneasy. He caught
movement in the corner of his eye and he turned his gaze toward the dew-soaked lawn.
There, not twenty feet from the house, burning like a white bonfire in the stale, red moonlight, was
his worst nightmare. It was the fire cat.
* * * * * |
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