Guardians of Narbonne

"We'll be fine," whispered Rianne.

"We've been fine so far. We can get out of the tunnel while they're still looking for us."

"They're not searching for us, Gabriel!" exclaimed Rianne. "They're searching for the relic."

The two had just finished hiding from a group of men with swords who were no doubt looking for the relic that their mutual employer had told them about. The men had split up and were wandering around the tunnels beneath Narbonne in France. They didn't seem to care about the two, though; they seemed only to care about finding the relic. Their employer had not told them why he wanted it or even who he was working for, but Gabriel and Rianne knew that his goal was sinister. They could tell by his eyes: eyes that looked through you, not at you. Eyes that glowed yellow in a candle light that other's eyes did not reflect. Eyes that belonged to a demon among men. A demon among men who wants the relic... His voice echoed in Gabriel's mind "the symbol of God". What could he want with a symbol? Gabriel thought as he remembered his employer's words...

"What do you think is down here?" Rianne asked, pulling Gabriel out of his thoughts.

"I don't know... I don't think we should find out." He turned back toward the ladder they had used to enter the tunnel below Narbonne.

Rianne grabbed his arm and pulled him back toward her, "we can't keep running away! We need to find out what's down here!" She let go of him and walked toward a door on the left side of the tunnel.

"No! Don't open it!" Gabriel whispered urgently as he ran toward her and blocked her path with his body "If we run into those men we'll never get out of here! We have to wait until they leave." He looked at Rianne and saw fear in her face; fear mixed with determination. She wasn't going to listen to him... she never listened to him...

Rianne leaned forward and pressed her lips gently against his, wrapping an arm around his waist as she did so. His heart raced as energy surged through him, making him feel more alive than ever before. He pulled away from her reluctantly after a moment and looked at her again, now seeing something else entirely in her face: love. He smiled at her and put an arm around her waist, drawing her close as they both leaned against the rock wall beside them. "We can check it out when those guys are gone," he said softly into her ear after a moment of silence between them.

"Alright," she responded with a smile, closing her eyes and resting against him while they waited for their enemies to leave their hiding spot behind the door where they were now standing. Neither of them saw or heard the arrival of four more men into the tunnel behind them until it was too late...