DRAGON BAIT

Chapter Fourteen

Duo ran where the path permitted, and fretted when tree roots or knifes-pricks of exhaustion forced him to slow. Feebleminded, that*s what he was. Heero had admitted from the first that he was a liar, and if he*d stopped to think about it he*d have known that the greater part of lying was not telling everything. How could he have assumed that Heero freely share his limitations? He had to guess that Heero couldn*t speak except when he was in human form; how then could it have escaped his notice that he was always somewhere else during daylight hours?

It wasn*t fair if he died because he hadn*t been paying attention.

Especially now, having Dorothy*s death on his soul.

If Heero HAD a soul.

\"He didn*t mean it.\" he said out loud, meaning the words for God. \"He doesn*t think the way people do, and anyway he did it for me.\"

Speaking took the last of his breath and he had to stop, hands braced against his knees, panting. He thought, for the first time, about what it meant to be without a soul. Not petty and cruel, which Dorothy had always been, but actually lacking a soul. Certainly Dorothy*s dead body didn*t look significantly different from his fathers. Would it? Could a soul be bought or traded, like woven baskets or salted fish? The more Duo thought about it, the less he believed so. And yet....and yet, he thought, he himself had come dangerously close-not to selling his soul, but to giving it away, to throwing it away-in his search for revenge. And he hadn*t needed the help of Malik to do it.

\"He*s sorry,\" Duo gasped to God. \"I know he is. I*m sorry. Please don*t let him die.\"

Surely the fact that Dorothy had been planning to let Heero die should count for something.

As soon as he caught his breath, he once again began running.

When he-finally-approached the last curve before St. Toby*s he tried to gauge how long he*d been and how much time was left. But he couldn*t be sure. There was no sign of the sky becoming lighter in the east, which would have meant there definitely wasn*t time to get back. But this way it was an agonizing case of maybe he could, and maybe he couldn*t.

The village was still, no candles burning, the house black blocks beneath the moon. He slowed to a walk, which was quieter than running, and approached the door to the tinshop. St. Toby*s was too small for locks, but there was a latch on the door to keep it from blowing open. Duo lifted the wooden beam out of the slot and gently lowered it.

The door creaked as he pushed, and he paused, thinking his heart would stop from the fear of getting caught. He fought his instinct to bolt, to hide in the surrounding darkness of the trees. Surely the noise seemed louder to him than it really was. From all around him in the village he heard nothing out of the ordinary, nothing to suggest anyone had heard or was watching . He stepped into the shop and slowly, slowly leaned against the door, pushing it shut as the hinges again screeched.

He blinked, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness.

They didn*t.

There was a window on the far wall, he knew even though he couldn*t see it. Even the little bit of light he*d get from opening the shutters would be enough for him to find his way around this shop which had always been a part of his life. But would never be back. He*d find a tool with which to cut Heero*s one remaining shackle and be out of here in the time it would take to say a couple *Gundam Wing*.

Carefully he slid his feet across the packed-dirt floor so that he couldn*t strip over anything which wasn*t where he remembered. On the third slide, his foot struck something-a table leg?-which had no business being there. Instinctively he straightened his arms in front of him. But it wasn*t a table leg; it was a wagon wheel resting upright. And as his left hand caught it in time to keep it from tipping over, his right hand upset a metal bucket which was hanging from a nail on the wall. He lunged for the falling bucket, caught it at the same instant the wheel fell over onto his foot, dropping the bucket-which clattered against the wall, the wheel, and the wold*s supply of nails-then he lost his balance and fell down, knocking over two boards and a broom.

*What the fuck!? Why is it that I*m only clumsy when I need to be quiet!? Damn it!*

Duo sat on the floor where he*d landed, holding his breath, waiting for someone to come in and kill him.

Nothing, nobody stirred.

A wheel. It was a wheel he*d tumbled over. Trieze hadn*t wasted a moment taking over his father*s shop.

Once he stopped shaking, he got to his hands and knees very slowly and crawled to the door. He opened it a crack and peeked out into the street. Much good stealth would do now that the door had once again shrieked on its hinges, announcing his intent.

*Why me? How am I going to save Heero if I end up getting killed?!*

As far as he could see, nobody was coming.

Duo took a deep breath and stood.

The open door illuminated the shop somewhat. And anyway, he couldn*t very well flee, knowing that that would condemn Heero to death. Unless, of course, he*d somehow found the key-which he didn*t believe for a moment. He picked his way across the rubble he*d made on the floor and headed toward the cabinet where his father had kept the smaller of his tools. As he expected, they were gone, replaced by the wheelwright*s equipment. Why hadn*t he noticed the smell of fresh-cut wood and shaving before? Still, there had to be something here he could use. Ehisels, awls, a mallet.

He had just put his hand out to sort through the tools when someone seized his elbow and spun him around, flinging him hard against the wall.

\"I thought I*d..\" Trieze*s eyes narrowed in recognition. \"You,\" he said with such feeling that Duo knew he was beyond the girls clothing and filthy face of the \"injured boy\" who*d been his houseguest. \"Ahhh,\" he continued, \"now I understand what*s been doing on.\"

This was no time to be meek. \"Do you think people will believe you?\" Duo demanded. \"Wheels that fall apart, wife ready to run off with the first handsome young stranger, daughter dabbling in magic-have they started to talk yet?\"

By the way he shook him, he knew they had. \"You*ll come with me, boy and everyone*ll know you*re behind it all soon*s they see you. All they got to do is catch on elook at you in them woman*s clothes. Soon*s they start wondering how you got away from that dragon, they won*t care about any wheels.\" He started to pull Duo toward the door.

Duo dug his heels into the floor. \"Heero rescued me from the dragon.\" That much was certainly true. \"And as for coming back here, that proves my innocence. If I was really a wizard, I*d have cast a spell and been done with all of you. There would have been no reason to come back. Relena*s the witch.\"

Trieze paused while he tried to reason it out. Then, \"No,\" he said tugging again, \"they*ll know it was you.\"

\"I*ll deny it. And there*ll always be that doubt. Any time anything goes wrong, they*ll wonder.\" He caught hold of the doorway before Trieze could drag him outside. \"But it doesn*t have to be that way.\"

Trieze tugged and it felt as though Duo*s fingers were going to fall off.

\"Trieze, it doesn*t have to be that way.\"

Trieze finally hesitated. \"What are you saying?\"

\"I*ll admit to everything. I*ll clear your name, restore your family*s reputation.\"

\"In exchange for what?\"

\"For letting me go.\"

\"What?\" Once again he started yanking at him, even while he said, \"I*ll come back, on my honor I will.\"

\"The honor of a wizard?\" he scoffed. \"A wizard who*s given himself to the devil...\"

Duo snarled darkly and yanked Trieze backwards and glared into his eyes. \"You know I*m not a wizard. If you want a wizard you walk your happy ass to Griswold!\"

It was Trieze who looked away.

\"Come with me, if you*re afraid I*ll run off,\" he said, which was casting away any last chance at freedom. \"We*ll be back here in time for the noonday meal. And I*ll remove all trace of doubt from your name. I*ll even confess to being a wizard, so that no one will ever be able to claim you had a innocent girl put to death. No one will ever come after Relena.\"

Trieze repeated: \"In exchange for what?\"

\"Heero*s in trouble.\"

\"Is he now?\" Trieze interrupted with a snort.

Inquisitor Dorothy took us to the same place where you left me for the dragon. She shackled him to the same stake.\"

The rest, he thought, it was better if he didn*t know.

\"I see,\" Trieze said. \"I go with you out to the wilds between here and Griswold, rescue your friend who promptly thanks me by slitting my throat..\"

\"He won*t. I*ll tell him not to, that you and I have come to an agreement.\"

Trieze was considering it, he could tell.

\"If we don*t get there by dawn, the deal is off,\" he warned. \"You saw how easily the villagers turned on me-do you think it*ll be any different for Relena?\"

\"Let me think.\"

\"If we don*t get there by dawn, the deal is off,\" he screamed at Trieze. Thinking was the last thing he wanted him to do. How much time had he wasted already?

\"You swear I*ll come to no harm?\"

\"Yes!\"

\"You swear you*ll them you*re a wizard and that you arranged..\"

\"Yes! Just move your ass!\"

He was determined to get it all out. \"..that you arranged for the wheel to break, that you bewitched my wife and daughter?\"

\"Yes! Damn it all to hell yes!\" Then, as Trieze paused to make sure he hadn*t left anything out, Duo started screaming. \"Move your fucking ass or I*ll strangle you with my braid! Don*t think I wont!\"

Slowly Trieze nodded.

\"They*re iron shackles,\" Duo said, lest he give Trieze time to change his mind. \"What do you have that*ll cut through them?\"

\"Is it high-grade iron?\"

Duo sweatdropped before losing his temper.

\"I don*t know,\" he cried. \"Trieze!\"

\"All right, all right.\" he fetched a metal file. \"This should work.\"

\"Fine. Let*s go.\"

Trieze tucked the file into his belt. \"Soon*s I tell Une, so she doesn*t worry.\"

From what he*d seen, Duo didn*t think Une would worry if she found her husband sprouting tree branches from his head, but this didn*t seem the time to say so. He trailed after Trieze, praying he wouldn*t give enough details that either he or Une would start to question his decision.

Apparently Une wasn*t so worried that she had stayed awake. Watching from the doorway, Duo saw Trieze knuge his wife. \"I*ll be back,\" he told her.

Une grunted, which might have meant, *All right,* or *Leave me alone.* In any case, Trieze lit a torch from the night-fire and came right back out.

\"Hurry up,\" Duo told him.

\"Listen, if he*s shackled, he*s not going anywhere. We*ll be there soon enough.\"

\"We*ll be there before dawn,\" Duo repeated.

Trieze scowled, but began walking faster.

End Ch.14