You Owe Me Two (BxB)

Chapter 20 - Careful

××Zypher××

"Make sure the little assholes stay in the bag and you stay as close as possible to me." I said, pulling Wild impossibly closer to my side. Wild nodded and tucked one of the rays tails back into my bag.

"I don't understand why we are staying here if it's so dangerous." Wild whispered, already looking around a bit scared.

"We need a place to sleep and eat that isn't the forest or a run down inn. A friend of mine lives in town. I've killed here but this will be good for us. I'll keep you safe." I said, sending him a comforting smile after pressing a kiss to the top of his head. 

We kept to the alleys in the town and stayed close to the walls, trying to keep away from the public eye. My friend lived around the center of the town, which had its downfalls, but we would be safe there for a day or so.

We took a left and Wild stopped dead in his tracks. I had been looking the other way just in case but he grabbed my attention with his sudden stop.

Wilds little hands grabbed my jacket tightly and I let him tug me back around the building. I pressed him to the wall as an instinct and looked down at him in question.

"He's here." Wild whispered harshly.

"Who?" I asked, glancing at our surroundings.

"The man from the library. He's around the corner." Wild said, fisting my shirt between his fingers. I kept Wild against my chest and peeked around the side of the building. Sure enough, there he stood, looking across the street at some random shop.

I ducked back into the alley when he turned his head in our direction. I hoisted Wild up and he wrapped his legs around me as I looked at the top of the building.

"Teleport."

Wild held on tight as the weird sensation went through him but he seemed to take it well. We looked over the edge and watched silently as the man looked into the alley. He continued walking after a few moments.

"Why is he following us?" Wild asked, his eyes still trained on where the man had disappeared behind a building.

"I don't know. Let's get to Rylands," I said, grabbing his hand and leading him to the other side of the roof.  "We'll take the rooftops."

I tightened my hand around Wilds and took off when he nodded. The jumping was a bit hard at first since Wild and I run at different speeds but it wasn't long before we fell into a safe rhythm.

When we landed on a white roof, I tugged Wild to a stop. I picked him up, causing him to gasp, and jumped from the roof onto a wooden porch. Without knocking, I pushed the backdoor open with my side and waltzed right into the kitchen.

"Oh."

Ryland stood next to a cooking pot, blonde hair sticking up at different angles, shirtless, one hand scrambling eggs and the other occupied with not burning toast on the other side of the skillet sitting atop the pot.

I set an embarrassed Wild back on his feet and nodded at the large grin my friends face. I stepped around him and began setting my things on his kitchen table. I slipped my main knife out of its holder and set it on the table before taking a seat.

"Hey! You know the rules, no weapons on the table." Ryland scolded, picking the skillet off the pot and bringing it over to the table. I groaned but slid the knife off of the table anyways.

Wild was still standing awkwardly near the back door. I smiled at his red cheeks but opened my mouth to save him. Before my words could come out though, Ryland beat me to it.

"Wanna grab some plates from the first cabinet, little dude?" Ryland asked, pointing in the general direction of the cabinet. Wilds eyes widened but he quickly moved until he was at the right one and pulled out three plates.

Wild shuffled over the the table and gingerly set the plates next to where Ryland was preparing the food. Wild rounded the table and quickly took the seat next to me, brushing our knees together under the table. I knew it wasn't an accident, merely a way to help him calm down.

Ryland passed the plates and utensils around before taking a seat himself, across from me on the four-seater, square table.

"Dig in boys."

××××

"That was a great meal." Wild said shyly.

"Thank you." Ryland said, giving him a lopsided smile.

"Thank you as well." I said. He was being very kind to us.

"Anything for you, my friend. I'll let you guys settle in upstairs."

Ryland stopped speaking when someone knocked on the door. I frowned but Ryland didn't seem phased and made his way around the couch to open the door. His door creaked as he pulled it open, revealing a man dressed in all black holding two envelopes.

The man held the pockets of paper out and Ryland unsurely took them. The man said no words and turned away, walking off the porch and fading into the people milling around outside.

Ryland shut the door and turned the envelopes around in his hands a few times before looking up at us with furrowed brows.

"They're for you two." Ryland said, tossing them to me. I caught them and handed Wild the one that said his name on the back.

I ripped open the top of my letter and let the envelope fall to the ground as I unfolded the paper inside. It was clearly a formal document from the quick glance of the neat handwriting. My confusion grew just from the top line of writing.

Heartfield Ball

Hello Zypher,
You have been invited to the Heartfield Ball. You won't want to miss the fun we will have. Food and drinks are provided.

If you decide you don't wish to intend, I suggest you leave town and most likely run. See you then honored guest.

1125 S. Maple Street, 12:00

Sincerely, Host

I growled deep in my throat and snapped my head over to examine Wilds letter. It read almost exactly the same way. I grabbed the paper from Wilds hand, startling him from his thoughtful state.

"Do you know who this is from?" Wild asked, voice a bit shaky.

"I have an idea."