Ryo could see they were nearing the path that would take them straight to the cabin. He could see a thin layer of smoke rising in the distance, and guessed that either Mia or Kayura had started the fireplace. He let out a small sigh of relief. After hunting for what felt like days for the Tiger’s Eye, and fighting with monsters, he was ready to see Sage back on his feet. He frowned as he suddenly feared they might be too late.

Kento suddenly caught sight of the expression within Ryo’s eyes and he frowned deeply. What could now being going on in Ryo’s mind? Was it guilt? Agony? Longing? He knew of the possibility of his leader laying the blame on himself and leaving no blame on anyone else. This often angered Kento more than he would have liked to admit. He shook his head with a low sigh as his eyes cast downward. How he wanted to walk up to Ryo, shake him a bit as he stared into his eyes and tell him, ‘Ryo, it is not your fault. None of us had anything to do with Rowen’s kidnapping and Sage’s illness. Especially you. Let go, Ryo, and together we can make it through this.’

But sadly, he could not bring himself to do it. For though he was stubborn in his own way, Ryo was perhaps ten times more stubborn than he. All he could do was to keep back and let Ryo have his moment.

Cye just walked along behind Ryo and Kento as his eyes were fixed upon Firestorm. Though concerned about his two friends, he was fascinated by this girl. Not fully human and yet not fully dragon either. It was as if she were of some other origin that had brought her into existence. Of course he knew there were those who might refer to her as a demon or a half demon. Whether they mentioned of the demons of hell, those who turned their backs on the One who created them, or whether of the creatures who were born on Earth, having been born as different creatures, rather than human or animals, he did not know. Yes, Cye believed there was a God. At first Cye never did, especially when he was certain that since so much suffering was going on, there had to be no God. He was wrong. Cye’s experience at meeting God had left him feeling humbled and gave him peace like no other. He could only hope the same God he believed in, would be Rowen’s rescuer and Sage’s healer should the Tiger’s Eye not work for him.

Star was silent as she watched the path on ahead. She was exhausted and felt her heart crying out for the one she had come to care about, during the last few weeks of getting to know Rowen. They hadn’t been dating, but rather talked of things of scientific importance, the laws of the existence of humans, and the theory of how humans live today. But now they were on their way back to the cabin. She wanted to rest and relax, and hope for the best to come out in the end. A sigh escaped her lips as she looked skyward as if searching for a special star. She had always been fond of Aquinas, a constellation she had studied for a while at home. And when she had questions about it, she would ask Rowen. As always she was amazed at his intellect and reasoning.

Firestorm stared down at the ground as they were moving along. Her temper was causing her to growl under her breath, but she could do nothing as she still felt weak. With every step she could feel herself bounce lightly against Kento’s shoulder guard. This wasn’t making her feel too happy. She was beginning to develop a migraine and was afraid she’d snap off at him. She realized he was only trying to help, but did the ride have to be so rough?

She closed her eyes and imagined she was somewhere else. Yeah, her bed would be real nice. Beds were always nice, especially with her big fluffy pillow. If only they were there now. On the other hand, a part of her felt selfish. But she couldn’t help it. She felt as if she could sleep for days. And that made her feel guilty deep inside.

Ryo’s eyes lifted upward and a small smile came to his lips. He could now see the little cabin just a half mile from where they stood. From where they stood on a hill, the cabin looked so small. It would feel good to get there. He suddenly looked down to check the Tiger’s Eye. The flower was still vibrating in his hand; its glowing had not diminished, but rather was slowly fading away, as the sun was beginning to creep over the surrounding mountains.

 “Do you think Sage is still alive?” Cye’s quiet voice spoke from behind him. Ryo turned his head to face his friend, seeing the apprehensive look in his eyes. Of all the Ronins, Cye was perhaps the most sensitive one out of all of them. During the battles though, he never showed just how concerned he was. It wasn’t until after they were so close in reaching their goals, that Cye’s sea blue eyes were misted over with concern. Ryo could even see the tears wanting to form within.

“I’m sure he is, Cye,” Ryo assured him as he laid a hand on his comrade’s right shoulder. His friendly tiger blue eyes stared into his as he could feel some of the emotions that Cye beheld on his face. “After all, if he had died, we would all feel it,” his hand traveled down to Cye’s chest, just above his heart. “in here.”

Cye smiled and nodded his head. Ryo, of course, was right. He had been so overcome with worry and concern, that he had forgotten about the Ronin link. He wiped at his eyes and laughed in relief. “Then what are we waiting for?” he asked. “Let’s get back to the cabin!”

Dinsoneis landed in a mountainous area covered with coniferous trees and plenty of dried shrubs from lack of water. Though it rained periodically enough, the trees were thought to have sucked most of the rain water through their roots. It was once said by a monk of old that the trees were sacred and holy to the gods. But the demon had no time for such nonsense of the human mind. His goal was the cave high above. He spread his wings and allowed them to glide him upward, moving as silently as a shadow. He reached the cave entrance in no time and folded his wings around his body the moment he stepped foot inside.

Inside it was very dark. His sensitive hearing could pick up water dripping from the ice within, making a resonated sound. The wind blowing throughout the cave made it sound as if there was someone moaning in agony. Inside this cave though were the hundreds of bats that had lived throughout countless centuries. And he needed only one bat.

He walked regally, his clawed feet making no sound on the hard surface of the cave’s floor. He paid no attention to the water dripping around him, nor the fact that he stepped on the skeleton of a torso, crushing it beneath his heavy foot. He could hear small breathing and knew he was getting closer. Bats were known to sleep within the darkest part of the cave, which was fine with Dinsoneis. He preferred the darkness himself.

He stepped down over a ditch and crossed over a small trail of water mixed with blood and some bones. His nose could detect a recent killing the bats had made. These bats were no ordinary bats. These were the Anopous bats. Bats that actually killed their victims and actually ate the entire flesh aside from drinking the life force from within. All that remained of the victim were often their bones.

He continued on through a small narrow passageway, getting closer and closer to the bats. At last he came into a much larger part of the cave. Though it was extremely dark within this area, he could see hundreds of bats hanging upside down, the wings covering their bodies; the sound of sleep within the air.

Anopous bats also resembled somewhat differently from their cousins. They were larger, much like the size of a full grown house cat. Their bodies were covered in thick shaggy fur, their wings were rather large and sinewy, with sharp claws at the tips, and their feet had three sharp talons on each to enable them to grab onto their victims.

A cruel smile came upon Dinsoneis’ black lips. His eyes searched bat upon bat, looking for just one. He had to be careful in selecting the very best, and only a certain bat would sufficient for his master’s plan. The entire search did not take very long, perhaps ten seconds at the least. For his eyes suddenly beheld one bat that stood out amongst the rest; a rare golden Anopous bat. For though the other bats were of a dark gray or black color, this one bat, had fur that was thought to be made of pure gold. It was this bat the demon was planning to kill.

Immediately he drew his scimitar and snapped his wings forward. The moment he did, every single bat awoke. There was a flurry of confusion and outrage, screams of protest echoed of the walls of the cave. Blinded, the bats could only hope to smell their intruder. Like enraged beasts they all attacked as one force, striking at the demon with stretched wings, talons, and sharp vampire like teeth. Dinsoneis struck bat after bat, his flashing weapon seeming to sing with laughter as it met flesh upon flesh.

Screams of pain seemed to feel the air, but the bats did not stop their assault. The demon was getting somewhat irritated. The golden bat was lost among the throng, but somewhere eager to attack him just like all the others. He quickly spread his wings high above his head and they shot out backwards with such force, it produce a strong air current. The bats that were caught within the air current tumbled in opposite directions, some slamming against the sides of the walls, some hitting stalagmites, and a few dozen hitting the floor itself.

Dinsoneis immediately shot forward and his huge hand crammed around the body of the golden bat. Steam seemed to come out of his nostrils as he growled. “I’ve had enough of this!” he roared, and then suddenly stabbed his scimitar right through the neck of the bat.

As if there was some connection between every single bat, the moment the golden bat had lost its life, every living bat all seemed to have suddenly come down with some kind of illness. Their bodies seemed to shrink as if they had been starving and cries of agony seemed to echo from each bat. The demon did not care one way or another. He had done the first part of his job, and now was quickly leaving, the lifeless body of the sacred bat still clutched firmly within his hand. As for the remaining bats, they did not dare to attack as he hurried by.

Rowen wasn’t sure how long he had been asleep, but he remembered having an interesting dream. He had been walking down a chromatic hallway that seemed to have gotten longer and longer with each step he took. He could see the end of the hall, and there stood Sage beckoning him to come to him. He could not hear what Sage was saying to him, but he could see his lips moving and his hands waving toward himself. And what was interesting enough was that Dayu had suddenly appeared behind Sage, staring straight at Rowen.

And now Rowen was wide awake, staring up at the high above ceiling, but not really focusing on it. His mind was on his dream, trying to discover the meaning behind it. What did Sage want him to do? What did his ancestor have to do with the dream? Was he running out of time about something? And then suddenly, his eyes widen as he could feel the hotness of tears threatening to seep out of the corneas. What if Sage had died and had tried to say good bye to him? What if Rowen was the only Ronin to realize that Sage’s life had just ended, and he was the only who got to see him one last time?

Rowen began to panic as now he could almost hear a taunting voice telling him of Sage’s death. How it had been beautiful and that Sage was now lying in a cold grave somewhere. According to the heartless disembodied voice, Sage had died all alone, cursing each person he knew within his life. The voice also went onto say that Sage’s spirit had been destroyed, so there was no hope of going to either heaven, hell, purgatory, or even with the hope of perhaps being reincarnated.

His entire body shook with great racking sobs as his lungs and throat burned with the intensity of it. He did not understand how anyone could be so cruel. Now Rowen wanted to do something he would have never thought in a hundred years. He wanted to end his own life. Without Sage who had supported him throughout the many years of which he knew him, he no longer wanted to live. To him, living now was just a waste of time.