“He’s in there,” Hwiyoung whispered, stopping in front of Taeyang’s bedroom door.

Hwiyoung's eyes were shining with unshed tears and he was trying so hard to control his sobs that his shoulders were starting to shake. Youngbin didn’t know what to expect behind the door but Hwiyoung’s demeanor was enough of a clue. He gently dismissed the guy and waited until he disappeared around the corner.

Youngbin took a deep breath and steeled himself for whatever lay on the other side of the door.

The windows wide open and there was enough light coming in but Taeyang’s room still looked dark. The air was thick and heavy that Youngbin himself had a little bit difficulty in breathing.

 “Taeyang-ah, it’s Youngbin,” he called out, noticing a lump on the bed.

“Taeyang-ah…”

Youngbin made his way towards the bed and found the guy in deep sleep, eyebrows creased together in worry.

“Taeyang-ah, what’s wrong?” he asked shaking the younger's shoulders lightly.

But Taeyang didn’t wake – he didn’t even stir one bit. Youngbin started to shake him a little harder but still nothing.

“Your friends are just like you, Youngbin-ssi. Unable to heed simple warnings,”

Youngbin his heels to face the newcomer. 

“It’s been a while, Youngbin-ssi. How have you been?” She was leaning against the doorway, the huge hat hiding half her face in the shadows.

“Jiu? What are you doing here?” he asked.

She smiled and flipped her red hair over her shoulder. “I came to help.”

“Really? You’re going to help me?”

“I came with information,” she answered.

Jiu strode into the room and stood beside him, looking down at Taeyang’s sleeping figure.   

“Your friend here is trapped in Rosura,” she said.

She reached out and held his hand. “I can’t believe you would let your friend do something The Oracle warned him about,” she continued eyeing him with accusation.  

“There must be a reason why he did it though,” Youngbin said, more to himself than to Jiu. “He’s not the type to just do things at his own whim.”

 “Anyway,” she continued letting go of Taeyang’s hand. “He’s not that deep in the shadows yet. With the way things are, even we limit our trips to Rosura. But, your mage can probably do something about it.”  

“About that,”

Jiu sighed and rolled her eyes. “What happened this time?” she asked exasperated.

“It seems he sneaked into Club Oracle with another one of us,” Youngbin answered, hoping that Jiu wouldn’t know of Inseong’s existence.  

Jiu closed her eyes and exhaled shakily. Youngbin can feel the anger wafting off  her and somehow knew that he would get a lecture.

“You mean with the fox,” she said shaking her head. “Well then, what are we still doing here?”

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

“Dawon-ah, are you sure this is the right way?” Inseong asked as they weaved their way along different alleys.

“Yes. Don’t worry, it’ll be worth it. We might have to stay for a couple of hours inside coz the fun starts later at night but, I’m sure you’ll like it,” Dawon answered motioning for him to follow.

Inseong pursed his lips, adjusting the leather jacket that Dawon bought for him. They were decked in what Dawon said was club wear and the tight jeans and shirt are making Inseong so uncomfortable. Dawon on the other looked amazing.

“Huh, something’s wrong,” Dawon muttered as they exited yet another alley and stood in front of a huge building. Th sign was still glowing and there were a few people loitering in front.

And Dawon was right, there was something that Inseong can't pinpoint - something off about the place. 

“We should go back, Dawon-ah,” Inseong said. Every nerve in his body was telling him to back off and head home and he was sure that Dawon can feel it too. And yet, Dawon smiled at him and pulled him inside.

"Relax, we're probably just thinking too much about it," he said. 

Stepping over the threshold only heightened the feeling of dread in Inseong. But the surge of loud music as they turned the corner drowned it out. The club was in full swing – the dance floor filled with bodies swaying to the music and the scent of alcohol and sweat mixed in the air.

This is wrong. We shouldn’t be here, Inseong muttered under his breath as they walked deeper into the club.

The lights were starting to burn his eyes and the music was too loud that he can feel it reverberating in his chest. A few people jostled him without even bothering to say sorry. 

It was too much. This is too much. 

“D-dawon,”

All the bottles in the bar exploded into a thousand tiny pieces and then, the screaming started. 

"Dawon, we have to go!" Inseong exclaimed as he tried to pull the other guy back towards the way they came from but people were rushing all around them that they got separated.

"Inseong! Where are you?" Dawon screamed over the commotion.

Dawon found him a minute later, crouching near the bar. 

"Hey, let's go," Dawon said, helping him to stand up. 

"Well, well, what do we have here," 

Dawon's eyes sharpened upon hearing the voice. Inseong peeked around Dawon and saw some guys walking towards them, their strides menacing.

"This is neutral ground, Felton," Dawon said turning to face the biggest of the bunch. 

"It was," Felton agreed. "But the Oracle has left the building and this part of town is my territory," he continued.

"Look, we don't want any trouble. Can you please just let us go?" Dawon asked, smiling, walking in confidence towards the exit with Inseong in tow. But then, two of the men stepped forward and blocked their way. 

"You see, we've heard a little rumor, mage. A rumor about what you guys did in Saigon," Felton said conversationally. He started to stalk around them and Dawon followed his every movement with his eyes.

"What the knights do is none of your business," Dawon replied. 

"Oh, but my dear child, when the knights mess up the power structure, it becomes everyone's business," he growled. His features started to distort with a wet, twisting sound. The guys surrounding them seemed to be experiencing the same thing. Their skin stretched and turned into brown and gray and black. Fur started to cover their arms and legs and within minutes, the men were gone. Standing in their place are huge, hulking figures of half-men and half wolf.  

At Felton's howl, the werewolves lounged on them but Dawon managed to conjure up a ring of fire. Most of the wolves managed to stop themselves but two braves ones dared to cross the flames and landed inside. 

"Inseong, i'm going to drop the walls. Run as fast as you could, okay?" Dawon said, putting himself between the creatures and Inseong. 

He nodded absently. 

"On three then. 1, 2, 3!"

The flames around them died down just as the wolves jumped in the air towards them. It felt like the world was in slow motion, his  eyes fixed on the sharp teeth of the creature looming near them with every second. He closed his eyes, raising his arms in front of his face as if the gesture could do something to protect him. Inseong felt something warm drip on his arms and he was certain that it was death. He was waiting for teeth to start tearing him up but there was none. 

Inseong opened his eyes. 

Youngbin stood in front of them, his broad sword glistening with blood. Dawon was right next to him, a ball of fire on both his hands. 

"Jiu, get him out of here!" Youngbin exclaimed just as a girl suddenly appeared beside Inseong. 

"Hello!" she greeted, grabbing his forearm and pulling him upwards. Inseong closed his eyes, expecting for them to hit the ceiling but instead, they just went through it, through all three floors of it and landed on the rooftop. 

"Please, stay here for a bit. I have to check on those two," she said cheerily before disappearing back into the floor. 

Inseong was too stunned to say anything. He knew he should have done something. He knew that he could do something but everything happened so fast. 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"We'll talk when we get back to the manor!" Youngbin said as he ran towards one of the wolves. He swung his sword down, the wolf lucky enough to avoid getting sliced in half. Dawon remained quiet but the flames he conjured felt a lot warmer and looked a lot brighter and Youngbin knew that the guy was blaming himself for this mess. 

Youngbin felt a sudden sharp pain along his side, his momentary distraction causing Felton to approach him and claw at him. In one swift motion, he slammed the hilt of his sword on top of the wolf's head and kicked him away. Dawon followed through with a blast of flame, making the creature howl in pain. 

"Dawon, that's enough," he called out but the guy wasn't listening to him. The flames surged into a bright orange and then started to turn into a bluish green. 

"Dawon! No!" 

Thankfully, Youngbin saw Jiu appear right behind Dawon and placed her hand on top of his head. Dawon crumpled to the ground with a soft thud.