A Light In The Heart Of Darkness. Amy Blankenship

around her, not liking the love he could feel rising for the girl radiating from the other man's powerful aura.

      Steeling himself against his wayward thoughts, Kyou growled again softly. He would not let the girl get to him but… he wasn’t ready to give her up yet. He had too many questions and she would answer them, whether she liked it or not.

      Positive he had himself back under control, Kyou decided it was time to depart.

      Shinbe was on his way to Kyoko when the man moved. Moved? That might not have been the right word. Shimmered and disappeared, then reappearing out of nowhere right in front of him was more like it.

      "What the…" Shinbe skidded to a stop as he looked up into a face that had death written all over it.

      His eyes widened in shock, it felt as if his heart just stopped. This close to him… he could clearly see the man had practically porcelain white skin and looked too much like Toya for it to be a joke. Blinking, he could've sworn he noticed fangs protrude from the man's mouth and a warning growl rumble around them.

      Shinbe stood planted as the man reached out one finger and pushed against his chest. The next thing Shinbe knew, he was sitting on his butt in the middle of the floor. Blinking again, he sat confused as the silver haired man dressed in black simply stepped over him, then suddenly disappeared.

      Suki reached the hall just in time to see Shinbe hit the floor none too gently and a tall, silver haired man disappearing with Kyoko. She blinked once and they were gone… there one second then gone the next.

      Shinbe, who looked like he was in the twilight zone, sat there for a moment longer, blinking in confusion. "What the hell?"

      Running up to Shinbe, Suki’s hands shook as she attempted to help him stand up. "Who was that man that disappeared with Kyoko?" She glanced at Shinbe worriedly as they both turned and rushed out the door to find them. `Did he really just disappear?'

      They exited the building and looked around frantically only to find no trace of the man or Kyoko anywhere.

      Turning to Shinbe, Suki's eyes shimmered. She felt like she was on the verge of tears. "Where'd they go? That man kidnapped Kyoko!" She was shaking with fear. What had started out as a fun girl's night out had turned into a nightmare.

      "Calm down, Suki. We’ll find her. Toya's here as well." Shinbe anxiously looked around for his missing friend. “I thought he was right behind me!”

      Worry quickly turned to anger now that it sank in that Suki was safe and by his side. A shadow of pity crossed his haunted eyes as he thought of the past. "And what the hell were you thinking? Something could've happened to you and I might not have known where you were!" He grabbed her harshly by the arms as his amethyst eyes darkened possessively.

      Suki's lips thinned at his anger. What was his deal? It wasn’t like she never went out with her friends. Her gaze locked with his as her own anger began to rise. "What do you mmmf," Her words were halted as his lips crashed against hers in a searing, heart-stopping kiss.

      Shinbe had been so worried about her that he couldn't stop the feelings that had rushed forth. He wanted to make sure she could feel every emotion that was coursing through his veins right then and there. He hugged her tightly, swearing to himself that she was never going to leave his sight again.

      Suki whimpered softly at the intensity of Shinbe's kiss. It was as if he was baring every raw emotion within his soul. She could practically feel them with her fingertips as she gripped his shoulders. Knowing if she let go, she would not be able to stand, seeing as her legs had just turned into jelly, she held on for dear life.

      Her mind went blank for a moment and she forgot that she was mad at him or that Kyoko had just vanished. All she could feel was Shinbe and a love that would no doubt outlast them.

      Gently, he relaxed his hold, ending their kiss by rubbing his nose against hers. His eyes filled with relief, but were still dark with desire. Shaking his head slightly, he tried to focus on the situation at hand and for once, his lecherous mind didn't wander at the feel of Suki's soft body in his arms… after all, she had been there for many life times.

      "There have been some things going on and you need to know about them. It wasn't safe for you and Kyoko to come out alone tonight. I'll explain while we search for Toya. I think Kotaro's here somewhere too." Shinbe wrapped a protective arm around her as they headed in the direction of the parking lot to find Toya.

      Suki was too stunned for a moment to do anything but nod.

      *****

      Toya raced across the parking lot cursing Shinbe for getting ahead of him. He had to exit his car on the passenger side once he realized that he couldn't get out on his side. In his haste to get to Kyoko, he had parked too close to a brick wall. Unfortunately, he’d also figured this out when he tried to open his door and it banged into the wall putting a dent in the side of his baby.

      That wasn’t really what had slowed him down though. When he had taken off across the parking lot at breakneck speed, a small boy had come out of nowhere and collided with him. The impact had been so sudden that it had knocked him clear off his feet. When he had righted himself enough to stand back up, he quickly offered the boy a hand to help him stand.

      â€œHey kid… you alright?” Toya jerked his hand back when the boy hissed at him and took off in the opposite direction as if Satan himself was chasing him.

      Toya shook off the creepy feeling the boy had left him with as he looked up at the two-story nightclub. The eerie feeling came back tenfold as he noticed the shadow of a man carrying someone across one of the windows on the top floor. There were just so many things wrong with that one little scene.

      His eyes flashed silver… his senses knowing things he did not yet understand. It all left him with the feeling that someone had just walked over his grave.

      As he approached the club, Toya growled in annoyance when he realized there were two entrances. One looked to be a main entrance and the other was just as crowded. Deciding to go through the main one, he forced his way through the crowd.

      `She better be okay... When I find her, I'm gonna permanently handcuff her to me whether she likes it or not…’ Flecks of silver began to strengthen within the gold of his eyes as he searched for Kyoko.

      *****

      Kyou made his way down the alley behind the club with Kyoko held tightly in his arms. His mind was set and he would take the girl to his temporary home to recover. He looked up toward the penthouse right across the main road from the club. She would be safe with him… but he would have to be careful. He could feel Hyakuhei’s minion within the darkness that surrounded the club.

      His jaw clenched as he heard a faint scream in the distance and knew another victim had been found. Glancing down at the sleeping girl, his golden eyes softened. For now… she was his secret. She felt as light as a feather and seemed so fragile.

      He couldn't comprehend how this wisp of a girl had such a fiery spirit, and yet still had such a pure soul. And ‘Toya’, she had spoken his dead brother's name as if she knew him. How could that be possible?

      His thoughts came to a halt as he sensed a powerful night creature ahead at the same time that a heavy scent of blood hit his nose. Tensing, he recognized the aura of the Lycan that had protected Kyoko earlier from the punk harassing her only to then abandon her… leaving her in harm's way.

      Not wanting the girl to be injured should he need to fight, Kyou laid her down gently in the alleyway and followed the scent of blood, which lay just around the corner. If the wolf had slaughtered a human, the girl may not be safe around him. It was known that some werewolves lose themselves once anger entered their blood, and he would not allow the girl to be protected by such a dangerous creature.

      Turning the corner on silent feet, Kyou’s eyes beheld a scene he hadn't witnessed in centuries. The wolf, still in human form, stood growling, his fangs bared. Stark blue eyes blazed as he snarled viciously at what looked to be a body held in