Ryder

Chapter 10: Catacombs

     Draco grabbed my arm, Bayo still in mine, dragging me huridly to somewhere. We whipped through corridors and stone tunnels. My breath started getting heavy, and Draco started to slow down. I was scared, that I was sure of. We stopped, me barely holding onto Bayo. Bayo curled into my gown, whimpering. "Draco!" I was out of breath. He turned to me and released my arm. "Stay here!" Draco said violently. With that, he ran away from me, leaving me to the fear and silence of my own thoughts.

The moments seemed to prolong, and my paranoia became even more evident. I held Bayo, as if my life depended on it, and in some ways the irony was unbelievable. Here I am, holding a wolf, waiting on a man that I am supposed to marry, that I met not long ago. Irony at its finest. I thought. Bayo still whimpered from time to time, only for it to be subsided by my hand stroking his fur. He was beautiful. And never in my life had anyone given me such a gift. "I won't let anything happen to you." I whispered into his furry ears. Ever. I thought.

"Ryder," A voice I have become more than familiar with spoke. I turned to see Draco's green eyes, appearing from the shadows. "Ryder, come with me," He held out his hand to me. I took it. "Don't make a sound." He turned to me motioning with his free hand for me to keep silent. I did as told and stayed quiet, holding tightly onto Bayo. He started to walk through the darkness, dragging me behind him. I couldn't see anything, except for the sparse amount of light coming from the cracks of the castle wall. Deeper we went into the darkness and an uneasy feeling washed over me.

A sudden sound of something somewhat resembling a peg, shot out through the darkness behind us. I let out a whimper, only to have my mouth covered. Bloody h*** not again; I thought. I was scared but tired. Tired of the constant bombardment of disaster. The smell of smoke rose, and a faint light was seen through the cracks of the castle that I had once seen merely a sparse amount of light coming from moments ago. "We need to hurry." Draco whipped me around, dredging in what I hope where puddles of water. Screams broke through the darkness and I knew we were no longer alone. Our footsteps sped up, and we tossed and turned, bustling about the cavernous space we were running through. I struggled to hold onto Bayo, but that was no matter, I held tightly. Clads of feet rushed behind us, and voices, not of our own, screeched through the now lit catacombs.

Moonlight entered my view. "Give us the girl Bane!!!" The voices called. I kept my feet to the ground and ran as fast as I could. Something warm streamed down my face. No, god no, not now. I thought, but it was all too late and my vision began to get blurry. I gripped even tighter to the helpless creature in my arm. The moonlight started to become clearer. I could make shapes out now. We were nearing an exit.

But to where....?

The shapes turned into trees and the light now covered everything. We were outdoors now, free from the castle walls, that I had made a home for such a short amount of time. My feet stumbled over tree limbs, one in particular, catching my ankle just right, causing me to trip. Draco stumbled backwards, pulling both himself and I to stability. We quickly regained our balance and began running once more.

Draco turned and ducked from and behind trees. The night seemed to suit him. He was elegant, in ways no mortal man in London ever was. The world seemed to part for him... Or perhaps defer particularly, due to the pure fact of him being of nobility. My mind rendered on the fact that I was thinking only of nonsense in a time where I should be terrified. His presence itself soothed me, creating a wave of non-oppressive courage. I felt inspired; I felt,.... Invincible.

A pale white light shown in front of my face, drifting steadily, almost rushed, towards the baroders behind us. Sounds of masculine screams echoed into the distance and Draco stopped in his path. The once invincible feeling washed away, leaving me drained, and hardly able to maintain balance.

I collapsed forward into Draco, the white light rendering glimpses into my crowed mind. Everything went black and I knew there was nothing left to fear;

Except the next glimpse of day I was too see.