Dark Hounds

                                                Part 3

Cat and Mia stood in the hall that did not seem to end, "where?d they go?"  Mia wondered crossing to one of the lefthand doors and pulling it open.  "Eeep," Mia skreeched jumping back and slamming the door, "what was that?"
"Don?t ask me," Cat said looking in another door, "I didn?t see it, you did."  She closed
that door and came to see what was behind the one Mia had looked in.  Before she could open
the door however Mia called her over.
"Here we are," She declared, "this has got to be it."  This was the same short hall that the Ronins had discovered. 
"In we go," Cat declared. And in they went indeed.

There were, predictably guards in front of the throne room, however they were about as much of a challenge as the ones at the gate had been, fortunately these did not have dogs.  Just as the warriors turned to face the throne room doors one of the doors behind them creaked.  The Ronins spun round weapons a the ready.  Cat was sprawled on the floor and Mia was looking around the door frame.  The warriors stared open mouthed at them as Cat got to her feet and hefted her crossbow which had been leaning against the door on the other side.
"Mia," Rio demanded, "what are you doing here?"
"What does it look like I?m doing smart boy?" Mia returned.
"Hun?"  Rowen, who hadn?t been following the conversation, looked confused.
"She doesn?t mean you, cat sighed, "she?s talking to Rio."
"Oh," Rowen said sounding less that intelligent.  Cat sighed, he was impossible, but the they all were impossible.  Mia was still arguing with Rio and they were getting louder and louder.
"Would the two of you shut up?" Sage asked.  Neither of the combatants payed him any attention. 
"Why do you even care what I?m doing?" Mia practically shouted at Rio, who was glaring at her.
"I just don?t want you to get hurt, ok," he shot back defensively.
"Really?" Mia asked her anger abating somewhat.
"Yea, Mia really." Rio assured her taking hold of her arm and looking into her eyes.  Cat and Cye sighed simultaneously and Sage put his hand over his eyes. 
"Um, guys this is really touching and all but, well we kinda need to move before somebody finds us."

"They are coming Master" the huntsman spoke from his position behind his Master?s throne. 
"I know, they are coming to their dooms, you know pretty," here he punctuated his remark with a sharp jerk on Kor?s chain, "it is not to late to save them."
"Save them maybe," Kor snarled, "but only to damn us all in the end."
"Such spunk" and the Master laughed again but the hounds growled.  Kor sighed the end was almost here.

The great doors stood against Kento?s attempts to open them.  Either they were barred or some great will held them closed.  Cat watched trying to remember the spell Kor had shown her there was something.  "Yes" Cat cried suddenly and running forward to the doors she pulled out her small knife and rapped hard on the doors with the pommel.  Nothing happened.
"Why don?t you try kicking this one?" Mia suggested reasonably.  Cat did but still there was no result. 
"All together," Rowen suggested, "maybe if we all try."  His suggestion was adopted and they all put there shoulders to the doors and heaved.  Slowly the doors swung inward, casting a square of light into the dim interior.  The company advanced slowly into the room.  As Cat and Mia, who were bringing up the rear, passed in the great doors slid silently shut again.  Cat Spun crossbow at the ready but there was no one there that she could see.   Turning back around she searched the shadows of the great room, the only light seemed to come from a raised platform a little way down the room.  As one the group moved towards this platform. 
Kor saw them coming, she knew that the Master had planed something dire, the hounds that had been all around had disappeared.  Then in the shadows behind the approaching warriors she saw a shadow, and then another.  Damn, now she understood, he was going to surround them with the dogs probably cut the off from each other, damn, damn, damn.  Well if you wanted something done right, Kor sighed she was probably going to regret this in the morning, if she got out of here alive, but that was a trivial matter, or so she tried to convince herself. 
As soon as they were close enough to get a good look at the occupants of the platform Cat?s heart sank.  Kor was up there, her clothes were different but it was still her alright.  In front of her she heard Sage hiss through his teeth.  They all stopped a little way off and regarded the trio warily.  Up on his throne the Master smiled his evil smile.
"Don?t you have a greeting for your friends pretty," he mocked her giving the chain a jerk.  Kor however was ready for him this time and as her released the chain to give her some slack she took her chance and made a dash away from the great chair.  Predictably she did not get very far, the Masters reflexes were pretty good.  Cat however took the opportunity to try and shoot the Master.  Battle was joined, from all around the warriors surged the hounds. 
Cat got off two shots before the hounds closed with them and she was swept away from the bunch by the rolling sea of hounds.  Kor picked herself up off the floor, she realized somewhat belatedly that she probably should have held still.  Her movement had attracted the notice of some of the nearest hounds.  Slowly she backed away from them, the Masters attention was no longer on her and now, she was apparently, fair game.  The others were far from her now Cye and Kento were fighting back to back, Rio was defending the girl she thought was named Mia, Cat was over towards the wall, bashing dogs over the head with her crossbow, Rowen was at a disadvantage since the hounds were to thick to give him time to shoot but he was following Cat?s example with more success, Sage was off to her left somewhere but Kor no longer had the leisure to look for him.  The hounds were closing around her now teeth barred, fierce and menacing.  The foremost one made a lunge at her but suddenly there was something between her and her attacker.  It was another of the hounds, this one was not as large as the others, and instead of being all black it sported patches of gold, much like a Doberman.  The wicked fangs of her assailant slashed downward onto Kor?s new ally  Then from nowhere Sage was beside her.
"Get back," he ordered and Kor was only to happy to comply.  Gathering up her champion, for reasons she could not identify, she retreated.  The frontal assault was not going all to well for now soldiers had come to replace the hounds.  The Ronin warriors, by sheer force of numbers were being worn down.
"We need to regroup," Rowen yelled into the confusion and the others moved togther again, in the middle of the great hall.  Still the Master sat unmoved on his monstrous throne.  Mia, Cat, and Kor found themselves sheltered behind the Ronins as the combined forces broke over them.      
"Can you do anything?" Cat whispered to Kor, bracing herself and raising her battered crossbow. 
"Maybe," Kor replied, "give me one of your arrows."  Before Cat could do so however the Warriors took matters into their own hands. 
"Flare up Now"
"Super wave Smasher"
"Thunder bolt Cut"
"Arrow shock Wave"
"Iron rock Crusher"
Cat took a look at Kor as the room around them shattered in a thousand directions. "Did you know they could do this?" she sent mind to mind, as there was no was anyone could hear over the roaring all around them.  Kor just shrugged, it was then that Cat noticed that Kor was caring something rather large.  "What?s that?" she spoke again in to Kor?s mind.
"A friend" was Kor?s only response.  Around them the havoc caused by all five sure kills being released at once was dying down.  "I think," Kor said, this time to Mia, "that we three should get out of here.  They," here she gestured at the warriors, "may want to clean up, deal with the Master, if he?s still around, but our presence is no longer necessary. 
"It never was," Rowen called over his shoulder at them.  The three girls stuck their tongue?s out at his simultaneously.
"You guys get out of here," Rio agreed, "we?ll cover you."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Kor declared, she turned around and started back towards the doors.  "Coming ladies?" she called back over her shoulder. 
       
  The Ronin warriors watched the three girls cross the floor to the doors.  A harder task than it sounded due to the fact that there were bodies of the dead everywhere and you ad to pick your way over them.  However not much of the fighting had been near the door so they did not have to pick their way among them very far.  Once they had made sure the girls were safely out of the battle zone they turned and made their way towards the now empty throne.  Rio?s Flare up Now had practically cut the chair in half and reduced it pretty completely to rubble.  It the Master had still been sitting on it he would be toast.  However close inspection proved that it was unlikely that he had been sitting there at the time. 
"We lost him." Sage declared, Rowen nodded, looking at the remains of the throne, there was no doubt that no one had been sitting in it when it was destroyed. 
"You mean that this was all for nothing?" Kento asked sweeping his staff around to encompass the destruction. 
"I wouldn?t say that," Sage murmured to himself looking back towards the doors.  No one herd him for at that moment a loud crash shook the air.

The three girls looked up at the great doors.  "How are we gonna get out?" Mia wanted to know? "it took all of us to open them before."  Kor put down the bundle she had ben holding.
"You still got that arrow?" she asked, tipping her head in Cat?s direction.  Puzzled Cat pulled a shaft out of her quiver and handed it over.  "Thanks," Kor replied absently, holding the quarrel up so she could get a good look at it.  Backing up a few steps she hurled the quarrel head first into the doors, for a moment nothing happened.  Then the doors exploded.  "That," Kor declared, sounding smug, "is one way to open stubborn doors, generally frowned upon but great in extreme circumstances."  Mia shook her head and walked out into the light on the other side of the hole Kor had made in the door.  As Cat watched still thunderstruck Kor?s bundle stood up, shook it?s self and bounded after Mia and Kor.  Shrugging Cat followed them, there was after all nothing else to do.  

"Impressive hole," was Kento?s comment.  The others nodded in agreement.
"Well," Cye commented, prodding a prone body with his trident. "What now?" the warriors looked at each other.
"We might as well see if we can find this master or who ever." Sage suggested and the others agreed.
"There?s no point in letting him get away if we can stop him," Rowen observed.  The Master?s trail was not obvious at all.  The destruction wrought throughout the hall had obliterated any trace of him.  It did not help that it was rather dim despite the hole Kor had made in the door.  In the interest of efficience they split up to look for some other exit as the Master could not have gone out the front without them noticing.  Or so they thought...

"What have you done with my car?" Kor wanted to know as they stood, blinking in the bright sunlight, outside the dynasty gates. 
"It?s just a couple of blocks over," cat informed her, "why?"
"Why do you think?" Kor asked tugging on the bottom of the green top like thing she was wearing, "I want to get some real clothes, something to eat, and then I want to sleep." Cat headed off towards the ally where she had left Kor?s jeep.  Mia and Kor followed her.
"Your coming home with us," Mia informed her, "I don?t know what?s going on but I think we had all stick together until we?re sure everything?s over."
"If that?s the way you want to call it I?m not going to argue," Kor shrugged, "it?s your house."  They walked on in silence until they reached the jeep.  Here Kor moved ahead of Mia, who for the first time got a good look at her back and the angry scabs cris crossing it.
"Kor," Mia positively yelped, "what did they do to you?" Cat and Kor both turned to look at Mia and then Cat too say the wheals.  Kor sighed they would panic about this now that the dangerous part was over.
"I?m fine, I promise, come on come on."  Kor moved to stand next to her jeep, "keys," was her next comment.
"I told you I?m not letting you drive anymore if I can help it remember?" Cat shook her head. "I?m driving."  Kor sighed and climbed into the back of the jeep, the dog that was still with them jumped up after her.  Mia got in on the passenger side and Cat started the car.  "Oh Kor," Cat called over her shoulder.  "What do you want me to do with this?"   She wanted to know indicating the battered crossbow.  It was useless as a crossbow now, seeing as it was broken in several places.  Kor picked it up gingerly and turned it over, studying it.
"I bet this would get on the wall." she decided dropping it back into the bed of the jeep.
"The wall?" Cat asked not following Kor at all.
"Just let me get changed and I?ll show you," Kor grinned to herself as Cat pulled up in front of her apartment building.  The girls got out of the jeep and followed Kor up to the apartment she shared with her mother when the women wasn?t away on business.

The End
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