They were gaining ground. Kire used one dead slaver as a shield and struck down more. Not far from her, she could see Ysaryn and Bolym unleash their bloodlust on their adversaries. The freed elves, the blades of their captors in their shaky hands, matched their resolve, if not their strength. She could hear the distressed roars of horses hitched to the slave wagons on top of the cries and yells of agony. Just as she was about to join the elves, she saw another henchman climbing the top of a wagon, about to take aim with a dart. “Ysaryn!” Kire yelled, pointing to him, just as she felt Ruli’s aura flicker and fade. [i]No.[/i] Kire was seized with a great fear that he had been struck down, until she realized it had merely flickered. It was still there, but faint.  The moment’s distraction allowed one footman to slash at her head. Kire ducked only just in time, the man’s blade grazing the side of her head. With an angry cry, Kire answered it with a slash at her opponent, the force enough to leave a deep gash across the man’s middle, almost slicing him in half the way she had the Kartaian in Ziad. 

Her head throbbed, but when she straightened up she saw many of the slavers lying dead around her. Ahead of them, the elves had gained possession of the wagons and horses. Kire took deep breaths as she pressed a hand to her head, jogging over to the nearest wagon, her Ring glowing a faint blue as she focused its energy to heal it, only enough for it not to inconvenience her too much in battle. She would be lightheaded for a few minutes, and it wouldn’t be completely healed, but she’d rather not be bleeding and distracted with pain in case there was a bigger fight later. She peered at the vehicles around them. Some were fitted with cages the one she looked into now was loaded with crates. When she pulled the lid off one of them, she saw, nestled within the hay that lined the box, glass bottles filled with dark red liquid. She didn’t need to remove the stopper to figure out what these were, and given the older slaver’s remark earlier, she also knew what purpose they had for Akuma. 

“Are you two alright?” she asked Ysaryn and Bolym, surveying the freed elves to see how they were. “We can take the wagons and horses, though we’ll need to unload this one first.” She turned, already working on discarding the crates. “The Gemini has him,” she told the other two. “This way would lead to where the slavers have taken the others, but that would mean more trouble. We’ll probably also see the way out along the way. I can help see you to it, and then I’ll go follow Ruli.” She glanced around as they spoke, on guard for any more reinforcements. “They are your people. Do you want to lead them to safety now, or will you follow me to Itallo’s manor?” [i]Better make sure they can’t follow us this way,[/i] she thought, looking at the entrance. “Let’s block this path off first.” 

--

Gods. This man was like an ox. For a moment, Gavin thought that would be the end of him when the blonde man disappeared and reappeared, even after taking a potent needle to the neck. [i]What kind of demon is this man?[/i] And yet, why did Gavin’s heart beat so fast in his chest in excitement? Rab had loosed another dose upon the enemy, and Gavin watched the maniac sink, finally, succumbing to the drug. [i]She’ll kill everyone[/i], he said. “I know,” Gavin muttered. [i]Which is why I need you.[/i] Akuma was stockpiling as much blood as she could before the wedding. It was a test, to see if Ikegai, through her, could cast a glamour upon a whole city. It was one thing to charm individuals, or even groups. The next step would be this. Of course Gavin had contemplated fighting back, but the urge hadn’t presented itself as strongly as it did now, when everything seemed to come together: the coming of the hunter, Rab, and now this man. That flicker of himself that still fought against the mental hold on him latched onto this one fortuitous moment, because otherwise, Gavin knew his fate was sealed, that he wouldn’t get the resolve again, and he would keep staining his hands with the blood of innocents. 

“The chattel are gone! They’ve sealed off the way to the wagons!” shouted a man, breathless as he joined them. “Elves, and some—some monster—er, woman—” 
Gavin narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”
The man paled, realizing what he was about to say. “S-she looked like the Lady Akuma.” 
Gavin’s eyes widened. His suspicions were right. “Go back up to the warehouse entrance. Send word to the lord—”
“Already sent runners back up there, Gavin.” 
[i]Blast it.[/i] “Good. Some of you, go join them. The others, work on unblocking the exit.” The men all looked wary in their presence already, though this messenger was similarly haunted by what he might have witnessed. They obeyed his word, all too glad to put distance between themselves and their adversary, never mind that he was still out cold. Monster was right, if this was indeed a twisted version of an already twisted woman. “Come on, Rab.”
“Do you need us to watch this one?” one of the last men to exit the cavern asked, gesturing at the unconscious man. 
“No, Rab could handle it.”
The man looked uncertainly at the half-elf, not just because he mistrusted the creature, but after seeing this stranger fight he knew how formidable he would be when awake. Gavin stepped closer, whispering. “We’re going to drain his blood, take some of his organs and anoint the caverns with it to strengthen the wards. It’s a delicate procedure, and things might go wrong when my concentration breaks.” He looked up seriously at the man, who might have lost the rest of the color on his face then and there. 
“Fine. If he kills you, don’t blame me.” Despite his bravado, the man ran out the room in a hurry. 

The Gemini had his own ways around the tunnels. He led Rab the way he went in earlier, through the hidden entrance only a few knew about. Once he, Rab, and the unconscious blonde were alone down this path, he broke into a faster pace. “Hurry,” he hissed at the half-elf. It was eerily quiet, his heart pounding in his ears and against his chest so painfully he thought he would burst with every breath. [i]What are you doing, Gavin?[/i]a sweet voice in his head, the one that told him to obey without question, to obey in exchange for the possibility of finally seeing where his real world was, making him halt abruptly, as if someone had yanked him bodily back. 

Gavin crouched, head in his hands, his whole body shaking. He couldn’t remove the pendant now, even if he had his full resolve, because he knew they would know. [i]She[/i] would know. [i]Your mother wouldn’t want you to put yourself in danger, wouldn’t she?[/i] crooned Akuma’s voice. [i]Gavin, you are a Gemini. Are you really going to help a hunter sent by the Wyverns? The sworn enemy of your blood?[/i] 
“I…I….” He sounded like a boy, then, a bleating orphan. Gavin, still clutching his head with one hand, drew the dragon-knife with the other, and with a shaky hand drew it across his palm. He stifled a cry of pain, but he pressed his wounded hand into a fist, focusing on the pain, his breath hissing with each shaky inhale. “C-c’mon, Rab,” he muttered, and he picked up the pace again. In this silence, it felt like forever, but Gavin dared not stop, afraid of losing precious time, and afraid that he might lose his nerve and turn back. Finally, he came to a bend in the path which would take him to where he had left his horse earlier. “Set him down, Rab, I want to rouse him.”

He wasn’t sure how strong the two doses would be, or how long they would affect the man. But Gavin bent over him, slapping his face several times. Still out cold. Gavin unfolded the pouch once more, selecting a different needle this time. Carefully, he pricked the blond only very briefly. The drug would wear off a little, enough for him to vaguely comprehend what was happening around him but would still be potent enough to keep the stranger from moving. He lifted the eyelids, inspecting, before slapping his cheeks again. 

“I will drug you again. Keep you behaved. And I will present you to Akuma as a gift before the wedding begins. Before that though, I will give you an antidote. It’ll make you awake enough to be able to act. And—end her. I can’t do it; she would be protected, and her—her glamour would be too strong when I’m that close. But you can, and you could even get away after you do it. Do that, and I will lead you and the hunter friend of yours to our master. If the hunter is still alive by then. Blink twice if you understand what I just told you.”