Napoleon pressed a quick kiss on Illya's lips. "No sharing. Never again."

Illya gave him a fleeting but loving smile. "We must go." He wanted to ask Lovecraft a question but he felt odd looking at Napoleon to do so. "Napoleon, ask your guest if he has a suggestion as to where we should go."

"You can ask me that yourself, Illya. After all, we have shared so much." This was followed by a low chuckle.

Illya glowered. "Just answer the damn question."

Napoleon was glowering too. "Yes, please do and keep to the topic at hand. And will the protective shield travel with us?"

"No. It is linked to this place. Illya may be able to keep his barrier erected, in hopes it will keep your presence hidden. But, it is night now, and their powers are strong."

Napoleon peered out a window, his anxiety growing. "So we just walk out this door? I don't think I like that plan at all."

Illya joined him, and put his hand on his shoulder. "All I know is that we cannot stay here."

Lovecraft prodded Napoleon internally. "There is another escape route. A tunnel. Lift the rug near the fireplace."

Napoleon quickly did as he was bid and found a trap door. Opening it, he peered down into the darkness. Illya picked up the candlesticks on the fireplace mantel and lit them with the matches lying beside them. He handed one to Napoleon, and kept one for himself. "Hurry Napoleon. I can feel them coming."

Napoleon wasted no time and headed down the stairs. The candlelight revealed two corridors. "Which way?"

"Left."

Napoleon watched as Illya descended a few steps and then struggled with the trap door, trying to close it so the rug would fall back over it. When the door was shut, Lovecraft spoke again. "There is a bolt you can shoot, to lock it from below."

Illya searched and found it, sliding the heavy metal into its corresponding slot. "Let's go."

The two men began down the corridor, hands curved protectively around the flickering flames. Napoleon whispered, "Illya, can you contact that woman again? Who was she anyway?"

"My babushka. She was the grandmother of my dearest friend while I was growing up. Melissa. The woman I am to.was to marry."

He found his hand seized tightly. "You're not marrying anyone."

Illya stopped and lifted a loving hand to Napoleon's face. "Napoleon, you have nothing to fear. I am bound to you now." His hand still on Napoleon's face, he spoke the rest silently. "We have been bound more tightly together than any words in a church could ever do."

Napoleon gasped. "I can hear you in my mind."

Lovecraft let out a soft laugh. "It is because he is touching you. You can speak to him in his mind as well."

Napoleon tried. "Do you know how much I love you?"

"Yes, because I feel the same way." Illya let his hand drop. "We must keep moving. Sooner or later they will discover where we have gone."

Napoleon was sorry to feel the extraordinary connection come to an end, but Illya was right. They had to keep moving. "So, can you contact her again?"

"I can't while I am moving. But when next we stop, I will try."

All of a sudden they could hear the echoes of gunfire. It sounded as if bullets were shredding the cottage. Napoleon and Illya looked at each other in alarm and began to move quickly down the dark tunnel.

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