DRAGON BAIT

Chapter Nine

Light from the candles streamed out of the church windows into the street behind the church, where Duo stood in the shadows. Anybody watching would be able to see him clearly, and the only thing which gave him the courage to step out of the shadows was the knowledge that the streets were nearly deserted*just about all the townspeople would be at the vigil service.

A huge black shadow flapped against a nearby wall, silent warning that someone was approaching.

*The wizard,* Duo thought, realizing at the same moment that there was no place to hide the two sacks of gold he was holding. The wizard had said he could smell people in trouble, and of course, he wouldn*t be at the service. Too late, Duo realized he had been so intent on telling Heero about the Inquisitor, he hadn*t mentioned the wizard at all.

But it was a trick of candlelight and nerves. The shadow got small and smaller, and where shadow was finally met by substance, it was only a raven which had nearly caused him to panic. Heero: he could tell by the way he cocked his head at him. He had settled on one of the church*s gargoyle water spouts, which just went to show how useful those figures were at protecting the building from evil spirits.

Grimly Duo moved beneath the window of Dorothy*s house. What if she*d closed the shutters against the night air?

But she hadn*t.

Taking a deep breath, he flung the sack full of money.

It struck the wall not even halfway up and fell to the ground with a clunk and a jangle.

Duo kept his back to the rave, sure that Heero would find a way to look superior and smug, even in bird form. He retrieved the bag, threw it again. Missed again. He hoped the service was a nice long one. How would he explain himself, standing the dark, hurling a bagful of money at the Inquisitor*s wall? For that matter, what would he do if the bag burst open and scattered coins all over the street.

Dorothy*s horse was nearby, readied and tethered, brought earlier by one of the boys from the public stable so that Dorothy could leave immediately after the service. Duo had the sinking sensation that he*d never get to that part of the plan. The horse watched him and the raven warily.

On the fifth try, Duo got the sack through the window, and Heero dove in after it.

Gingerly, Duo approached the horse. \"Easy, easy,\" he whispered, though it had already calmed down now that Heero was indoors. He got the silver candlesticks out of his own sack, the pulled everything out of the Inquisitor*s saddlebags. Using one of the candlesticks, he poked a hole through the leather at the scam, then re-packed the bag, starting with handfuls of gold.

With the coins in there, not all the Inquisitors clothes would fit. Now what? He pushed damp hair off his sweaty forehead and forced himself to remain calm. Heero wasn*t here to give him advice, so he*d better come up with a plan on his own. He set aside a bulky cape and managed to jam in the rest. Giving the horse one final pat, he scooped up both the bundle of Heero*s clothes and Dorothy*s cloak. The first he left against the back wall of the church, as planned, the other in the wooden poor box just inside the front door.

The vigil service was almost over. He arrived just in time for the final benediction. Moments later, Heero slipped in beside him, and there was a murmur of disapproval from the surrounding people.

*Oh no,* Duo thought, assuming the townsfolk were upset because he had come in late and Heero had not quite made it at all. He opened his mouth to apologize, but already other had started talking*whispering, because of the place, but very intense, very upset.

\"What happened?\" at least three different voices asked. But nobody was even looking at him for an explanation. He heard St. Emmett*s name mentioned, and the word \"relic,\" and the fact that Father Donato and Inquisitor Dorothy was called away so often to deal with wizards and dragons and demons, and somebody had to carry on the daily routine. But the single word he heard most often was \"gone\"

Trying to make sense of the jumble of voice, he let himself be carried along with the flow of people leaving the church, though it separated him from Heero. \"Excuse me,\" he said at the point where only two people were talking at the same time, \"something*s missing?\"

Closest to him was a man about his father*s age and build, a cloth merchant who just this afternoon had offered to hire him to clean his shop and run errands. \"That*s right,\" he said, \"you*re new here and wouldn*t know. The chalice is gone* the one St. Emmett brought back from his pilgrimage to the Holy Land.\"

\"They had to do the service without a chalice?\" Duo asked.

\"It was a gift to St. Emmett from the bishop of Jerusalem,\" somebody explained. And somebody else: \"Father Donato only uses it on special occasions on account of it*s a relic, and because it*s so precious since it*s made of silver and emeralds.\"

On the verge of expressing his sympathy, Duo felt the words drain out of him. Silver and emeralds?

\"Oh my,\" said Heero, suddenly right beside him and wrapping his arm around Duo*s slim waist. \"Then it*s not likely to have been mislaid.\"

Duo was ready to strangle him for not having told him when he*d had the chance. How COULD he have taken the risk of stealing Griswold*s chalice right from under everybody*s noses? But apparently the townsfolk read his furious _expression as shock and dismay, for nobody asked him what was wrong.

Heero looked at him calmly and evenly, then raised his eyebrows expectantly.

Then, with an _expression of chagrin since Duo was obviously not jumping in and playing his part as Heero expected, Heero said, \"Just like at St. Toby*s.\"

The murmur of voices intensified. Was everyone who*d been in the church crowded around them in the square?

Slowly and deliberately Heero said, \"Maybe it wasn*t somebody from St. Toby*s who stole those candlesticks after all. There must be a thief going from town to town stealing from churches. We were lucky not to get set upon on the road. Did anyone see any strangers loitering about the church?\"

In Duo*s opinion he*d gone and convinced them. But nobody pointed out that THEY were strangers. \"Maybe,\" Duo said, sure that the crime was written plan on her face, \"we should tell Father Donato and Inquisitor Dorothy that there was a similar theft as St. Toby*s church.\"

The crowd surged around the corner towards Dorothy*s house. Dorothy was standing outside, one hand on the tether of her readied mount. Straightaway, Duo*s gaze went to the saddlebag. If he*d made the hole too large, people would see that it had been made intentionally. If he*d made it too small, the coins wouldn*t fall through and all that he*d have accomplished would have been to enrich his enemy. He forced himself to look away from the bag and deeper into Heero*s arms when he saw that Father Donato was out here, too. By the look of them, he and Inquisitor Dorothy had been arguing.

Heero held Duo closer to him while resting his head on top of the long haired beauty*s as the crowd*s jostling had caused him to lose his balance, but Duo had been looking at him and knew that wasn*t the case. \"Stay back,\" Heero hissed into his ear. Duo shivered at the wonderful sensation it provided. Heero gave Duo a kiss on the cheek before he made his way forward as Dorothy cast an annoyed glance at all the noisy people.

\"Quite!\" the Inquisitor bellowed.

The townspeople stilled, so Duo could hear Father Donato say in his thin and whiny voice, \"But why MUST you go now, when the church had been burglarized and we don*t know how, and the villains might strike again?\"

Dorothy was aware of how many waited for her answer.

\"I already told you, I*m urgently need in Tierbo for and exorcism.\"

\"But surely tomorrow is soon en...\"

\"The girl they sent said it couldn*t wait. If fact she*s supposed to be here now\" Duo ducked to avoid the searching gaze which passed over the crowd*\"and if she doesn*t hurry, I may be forced to leave without her. As for the burglar, just put three trustworthy men inside the church, lock the door, then post three more men outside. I*m confident you can handle everything until I return.\"

Duo wasn*t confident Father Donato could handle anything. He seemed a mild little man on the verge of being overwhelmed by life.

By this time, Heero had made it to the edge of the crowd. People were calling out to Dorothy, telling her about the theft of the silver candlesticks from St. Toby*s church, urging Heero to step forward and speak up, demanding attention in a confusion of voice that even Duo, knowing what they were saying, couldn*t sort out.

Dorothy*s horse became suddenly skittish. It snorted and sidestepped and threw its head back in wide-eyed terror. Duo recognized that reaction from the cart horses which had brought him to the hill where he*d been staked out as dragon*s bait. He glanced again at the saddlebag. The horse was shying away from Heero, but since the dragon-youth stood so close to everybody else, anyone would have assumed the size and noise of the crowd was the problem.

Dorothy dragged on the bridle but to no effect. Finally she said, \"I*ve got to get away before this foul beast steps on someone. Just set up guards to watch the church, and guards to watch the guards, and I*ll be back as soon as I can.\" She swung up onto the saddle and dragged hard to the right, which was towards the crowd in the street, which was exactly where the horse didn*t wasn*t to go. The horse reared, then landed back on all fours with what was probably bone-jarring force.

Duo, who was looking for it, saw a coin fall to the packed earth.

As Dorothy guided the horse into the street, Heero swooped in a picked up the coin. \"Inquisitor,\" he called.

The horse reared again, and the saddlebag lost another coin. Dorothy craned around to see what was the matter.

\"You dropped this.\" Heero held up the coin so that it sparkled goldenly in the light of the nearby torches.

\"Not mine,\" Dorothy said, obviously annoyed with the interruption, the horse, and the world.

\"Not mine either,\" Heero said. He held the coin up as though to let its owner claim it.

\"There*s another one.\" Duo pointed. \"Under the horse.\"

Dorothy*s head swung round at the sound of his voice, and he stepped behind a wide woman lest she recognize him too early.

Someone else from the crowd retrieved the second coin.

\"It*s not mine,\" Dorothy snapped when the man held it out to her. She sounded ill-tempered to have to admit it. \"Now move out of my way. I have work to do.\"

Heero moved in closer. \"Well, maybe you should hold it in safekeeping until the owner shows up.\"

As his approach, the horse reared again. This time several coins were jostled loose.

\"They*re coming from your saddlebag,\" someone pointed out.

\"Nonsense,\" Dorothy answered.

Another coin dropped onto the little pile, and the sound of it was clear in the silence which had settle over the crowd. Father Donato came forward, wringing his hands in agitation. He licked his lips several times before he could bring himself to say what the townsfolk were already muttering amongst themselves. His voice was so soft, Duo could barely hear. \"Perhaps we should take a look in that bag, he said, \"just to....take a look.\"

Furious, Dorothy swung off her horse. But as soon as she*d untied the bag and started to hand it to Father Donato, the entire bottom ripped out. Gold and silver coins poured onto the street, along with the silver candlesticks, the golden plate, and St. Emmett*s chalice.

\"I.......I..\" Doroth moved from shock to suspicion in the interval between two breaths. \"Somebody put these things here.\"

\"Obviously,\" said the man who had tried to give Dorothy the second coin. \"Which just leaves us with the question of why you were so anxious to leave.\"

\"Oh dear,\" Father Donato said, look as though he were about the wring his hand off. \"Oh dear, oh dear.\"

Dorothy scowled. Although her words answered the townsman, she was looking at Father Donato. \"I*ve been called to Tierbo for an exorcism, you silly little man.\"

\"Tierbo*s a seaport,\" someone pointed out. \"Lots of smugglers, lots of opportunities to sell stolen goods.\"

\"I did not steal these things,\" Dorothy shouter.

\"Oh dear, oh dear,\" Father Donato repeated.

Dorothy grabbed him by the shoulders. \"There was some girl, sent to call me to Tierbo. That*s where I*m going, and all we need to do is find her..\"

That sounded like Duo*s signal: he poked his head out from behind the wide lady.

\"There!\" Dorothy cried. \"There she is!\"

Duo looked behind him and to both sides.

\"You! You, girl!\"

Duo stood there, as though waiting, like everybody else.

Dorothy let go of Father Donato and pushed through the crowd to him. \"Are you a simpleton, girl? I*m talking to you.\"

Again Duo looked to either side.

\"Tell them about the man with the voices. Tell them that it wasn*t my idea to go to Tierbo but that you summoned me.\"

\"What?\" Duo said.

Dorothy grabbed him, which he hadn*t anticipated.

\"Let go, \" he cried in a loud girly voice as he twisted about. The last thing he needed was for her to realize that *she* was a he. \"I*ve never seen you before.\"

The crowd separated as Heero made his way to where Dorothy and Duo were.

\"Take your hands off her this instant!\" he roared.

Duo whined and made his way into Heero*s strong arms as Dorothy started yelling.

\"She was here this afternoon!\" Apparently she was too frantic to notice anything amiss. \"Tell them you were here.\"

\"The girl was with me,\" the cloth merchant said, \"talking about work for her husband.\"

\"She came to my shop, too,\" someone from behind called out.

\"And mine.\" that person added, \"And she sure don*t come from Tierbo. No wealthy couple comes from Tierbo.\"

\"Terrible thing,\" Father Donato said in his nervous little whisper-squeak, \"terrible. Nothing like this has ever happened before. We*d better take a look in your rooms, Inquisitor Dorothy.\"

\"There*s nothing amiss there,\" Dorothy answered. Then she swung back to Duo and stuck her finger practically in his face. Very quietly, very firmly, she said, \"You were here.\"

Heero grabbed Dorothy*s hand in a tight grip making her winch, \"If you don*t remove your hand from my wife*s face your going to find your fingers broken.\" All the girls around swooned at how romantic it was for the handsome husband to defend his wife.

\"She can*t have nothing to do with the thievin*,\" someone pointed out. \"SHE*S the one TOLD us about the thievin*,\"

Two of the townsmen took Dorothy by the arms and marched her back into her house, with Father Donato as the reluctant leader.

Too many people jammed into the house, so that Duo and Heero couldn*t even see into the doorway, but it didn*t take long before they heard someone cry out that there was a large leather bag full of gold in Dorothy*s clothes chest.

Heero gently pulled Duo away from the crow of people. At the next street, he turned to look back.

Well,\" he said, \"what do you think?\" Heero released a sound of surprise when Duo turned quickly and kissed him passionately, pressing himself tightly against the dragon-youths body.

Heero pulled away slowly with a cold smile as he regarded the long haired boy.

\"What was that all about?\"

Duo simply yanked Heero down for another kiss. Explaining himself between kisses.

\"Hmm that, \" kiss \"was, \" kiss kiss \"absolutely, \"kiss kiss kiss \"wonderful. Never, \"kiss \"felt, \" kiss, \"so incredible.\"

With a loud groan Heero backed Duo quickly into the side of the building and lifted him up to wrap the boys legs around the dragon-youths waist. Groping Duo*s behind heavily Heero shoved his tongue past the boys plump lips. Duo*s fingers were yanking slightly at Heero*s hair as he tried to pull him closer. Wanting to taste more of the dragon. The two made out unaware that a set of lavender and brown eyes were watching from the shadows.

In a castle hidden far far away. (Why is it that in fairy tales everything is *far far* away?)

Bakura shook his head as he watched. \"Why is it that we never do that Malik?\"

\"What? Make out against a wall? Seems kind of painful.\"

The king of shadows sighed as he closed the portal in which they were using one of Bakrua*s many magic mirror*s to watch the two.

\"Do you want to go make out against a wall? I*ll do it if its what you really want my love.\"

The pale ruler flipped his hand in the air as he rolled his eyes. \"That*s not it. Why is it that we aren*t as passionate anymore? Hmm I remember how I use to not be able to take my hands from that lovely body of yours.\"

Malik sat up on his knee*s on his lovers bed with a wicked grin.

\"Oh? You want passionate do you?\" he started to crawl to him on all fours. \"Give me a moment love and I*ll show you just HOW passionate I can be.\"

The two rolled about on the bed laughing as the tanned beauty tackled Bakura.

End Chapter Nine.

Note- I*m sorry for all of you who don*t know who Bakura and Malik are. Bakura and Malik happen to be my favorite yaoi couple from Yu-Gi-Oh. I*m adding them into this fic because there aren*t enough fics out there dedicated to the two. I hope you all enjoy it so far. Please review.