Price of a Chimera pt

Price of a Chimera pt. 2

By fantasymonk

Warnings: none

Disclaimer: Of course I don't own these characters, (pooh!) so I don't make any money off of this. I just like to torture them every once in a while. J Keep them on their toes, so to speak, hehe. I hope you enjoy, and arigato for reading!

Zelgadiss was aware of something cool and soft beneath him. What happened, where was he? The last thing he remembered was lying next to Xellos in the grass next to the pool. Slowly opening his eyes, he gasped.

"What the…!" He lay in a large bed with white silken sheets. Zelgadiss raised himself on his elbows to get a better look, and glanced down, receiving a shock. The last thing he remembered, he had been naked, but now he was dressed in the oddest costume he had ever seen. Sheer black pants clothed his legs, the material gathered at his ankles. A black piece of silk sewn to the front of the waistband was the only thing keeping his dignity intact. To his embarrassment, the back remained uncovered, offering a seductive view of his buttocks through the sheer fabric. He had no shirt or tunic on, exposing his stony skin and the rock clusters that adorned it. On his head was a band of black silk, with a length of the same material attached to each side of his forehead, each hanging down almost to his shoulders. The cloth kept his hair out of his face, oddly making him feel more exposed than the lack of clothing. Around his right arm was a gold band, just above his bicep, while around each wrist was a silver wrist-guard with strange symbols carved on the metal. A single red jewel adorned each wrist-guard. Looking around the room, Zelgadiss noticed that it was as richly decorated as he was. The bed had lengths of sheer silvery cloth hanging from all sides, forming a curtain around him that shimmered. Not all of the cloth overlapped fully, and through the gaps Zel could see gold gilt on the walls, with silk cushions strewn across the floor. Thick rugs were scattered around the room, and a small mirror lay on a table, next to a golden throne. However there was no door to be seen. Zelgadiss slowly pushed himself up the rest of the way and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Pushing aside the thin curtains, he began to place a bare foot on the floor when a figure materialized into the room close to the bed. The man was dressed in robes of gold cloth, and wore a purple turban. He had white hair that hung down to his shoulders, and cold gray eyes. He smiled when he saw Zelgadiss.

"Ah, my little chimera is awake at last! I must say, Rahmet cast a strong sleep-spell on you. You've slept the better part of a day." Zelgadiss stared at him. He'd been asleep how long?

"Why have you taken me? What do you want?" Zelgadiss demanded, taking a step toward the man, who bowed.

"I am Lord Vanros, owner of the marvelous palace you are now residing in. You may call me Vanros," he answered, smiling at Zelgadiss. Zel became uncomfortable under the other man's scrutiny, painfully aware of how he was dressed.

"Where are my clothes?" Zelgadiss asked, glaring at Lord Vanros. "And where is Xellos?" Lord Vanros smiled, but it wasn't a nice smile.

"Your clothes are of no concern to you any more. You will wear what I give you to wear." Vanros chuckled. "If by Xellos you mean the purple-haired man you were with, well, I'm afraid he is dead by now. My servant will have taken care of him."

Zelgadiss felt his heart grow cold in his chest. No… it couldn't be! Xellos was… dead? He sank against the bed, his knees unsteady. Lord Vanros made clucking sounds meant to be soothing, and stepped near Zelgadiss.

"Do not worry, my chimera, I will take care of you." Zelgadiss jerked away from the arm that came around his shoulders. He came to his feet, eyes flashing.

"I can take care of myself! Let me go, now!" Zelgadiss started to form a fireball, when a blinding pain coursed through him. He fell to the floor, gasping, his body shaking with convulsions, chin against his chest. When he was able to move he looked up and saw a light flicker in the jewels on his wrist-guards, then go out. Vanros chuckled, shaking his finger at the chimera.

"Now, now. If you try any magic, that is what will happen. I suspected you would have magical abilities, being a chimera, so I took the precaution of placing those on you. They will prevent you from using any magic to harm your new owner." Zelgadiss shakily lifted himself off the floor.

"You bastard!" he cried, and with what strength he had left, he introduced his stone fist to the surprised man's face. Lord Vanros went hurtling backward, landing on his back and skidding along the floor for a few feet. Zelgadiss swayed slightly, then fell to his knees, barely able to stand up.

"That was some jolt," he thought to himself, giving a disgusted glance to the jeweled ornaments on his wrists. "Definitely do not want to go through that again. Luckily they don't take away from my natural abilities. Stone skin is definitely a plus sometimes." He chuckled to himself. By then, Vanros had picked himself up and was brushing off his robes. He gave Zelgadiss a glare that promised punishment.

"Apparently there are some things you don't know, my possession, and one of those is that you do not strike me!" Lord Vanros was shaking with rage. To Zelgadiss's surprise, the man formed a small fireball and sent it hurtling toward Zelgadiss. Too surprised and weak to get out of the way, it struck him full in the chest, and he tumbled along the floor, landing on his side. When he looked up, Vanros had left. Shaking his head to clear it, Zel got to his hands and knees, assessing the damage with careful fingers. His chest was burned, not bad, but enough to cause a small degree of pain. Out of habit he started to cast a healing spell, but stopped when a light flickered in the wrist-guard jewels. Damn! He pounded a fist on the floor, making a small dent. He couldn't even heal himself. The man was a decent sorcerer, but not in the same league as Zelgadiss. If he could use his magic, he could have defeated him and escaped easily, but without it and unarmed, he was almost defenseless. Not even his stone skin and the strength it lent him could get him out of this. He sat with his knees drawn to his chest, a tear trickling down his face. And Xellos… he might have counted on Xellos to come, but his love was dead now. Nobody knew where he was, and the only way out of this room was obviously to use magic, a means beyond his reach now. Alone in the big room, Zelgadiss wept.

Lord Vanros stormed through the palace, snarling at anyone who was in his way. That chimera was going to learn his place, and learn it painfully! He finally reached the door to his apartments, and stalked inside, throwing himself down onto a luxurious chair. Still fuming, he entertained himself by plotting the ways he could punish the chimera. His thoughts were distracted by a timid knock at the door.

"What is it?" he shouted. The door opened slowly.

"Ah, my lord…" the servant said nervously, eyeing the growing bruise on his lord's cheek. Vanros tapped his foot impatiently.

"Yes, my lord. Well, sir, Rahmet hasn't contacted us. He was supposed to return from a raid, and he hasn't come back." The servant quickly bowed out and shut the door. Vanros sank further down into his chair. Rahmet hadn't been far away when he sent the images of the chimera in the pool; he should have been back by now, even after taking care of that man who had been with his chimera. Vanros sat up straighter as a possibility occurred to him. If Rahmet had not come back by now, something must have prevented him from coming. As long as he breathed, his faithful servant would have found a way to return, so Rahmet must be dead. His eyes widened. Rahmet… dead? Then, that man must not be dead after all. Vanros pondered this. The man who had been with his chimera must be a sorcerer of some kind to have bested Rahmet. Well, no matter. The purple-haired man still would not be able to get into the tower that held the chimera he now owned. Only himself and a few of his loyal servants knew the spell needed to get in, and unless the unknown man was a demon of some kind, he wouldn't be able to do it. At this thought, Vanros chuckled to himself. That man, a demon? The thought made him laugh again. He pictured the slender frame and silly grin that was so wide it made his eyes look like they were closed. No, that fool would be no threat to him, he was sure. Vanros lounged in his chair, his thoughts returning to ways of punishing his newest acquisition.

Meanwhile, said "fool" was trying to form a plan. He knew a name, that was a start. He debated on whether or not to let Lina and the others know what happened, but he decided against it. After all, it would be easier for him to do what he needed to without having to worry about someone else besides Zelgadiss. The mazoku made his way back to the inn he had been staying at. Even controlled, his anger radiated from him, causing people to move aside for this seemingly innocuous man. Once he had gathered his belongings, he went down to the common room to check out. A conversation between some men close by caught his attention.

"I heard that he finds rare things, and takes 'em! Owning things makes him feel even more powerful, they say. Pah!" The speaker spat. "Just like a damn lord, eh?" he said, and his companions nodded agreement. Another spoke up. This man was old, with the years showing on his face. His white beard hung down to his chest. He had been glancing at Xellos as the others talked.

"Well, not all are like Lord Vanros," he corrected. "But if someone is willing, even Lord Vanros could be dealt with in the manner he deserves."

Xellos almost opened his eyes in surprise. This Lord Vanros must live nearby, for the common people did not travel far from their homes, not unless they were extremely good fighters. Looking as friendly as possible, Xellos moved toward the small group of men.

"Excuse me, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation, and I heard you mention a Lord Vanros. Would any of you happen to know where he lives?" Xellos asked, eyes closed, a smile on his face. The one with the white beard answered him.

"Well, sir, I know where his palace be, but you should be warned that he is a sorcerer, and has many loyal people guarding him," the old man said. Xellos merely shook his head.

"I can take care of that when the time comes. If you'll just tell me where this palace is…" he said, waiting for the man to continue. The old man looked speculatively at Xellos.

"I do believe you could, at that," he murmured, then shook his head. "Well, if ye want to get to the palace, here's what you do…"

As Xellos listened to the man's directions he chuckled inwardly, an evil sound boding no good for the lord mistaken enough to take what Xellos Metallium loved. In his hand, he idly played with the amulet that had belonged to the luckless servant of Lord Vanros. Once the old man had finished, Xellos nodded his thanks and turned to leave. The old man took the mazoku's hand warmly.

"Lord Vanros keeps new possessions like what he took from you in the tallest west tower. The gods be with ye, and I wish ye luck in getting him back," he said. Xellos had gotten halfway to the door before he fully comprehended what the man had said. He turned around quickly.

"How did you…" he started to say. Then he stopped and looked around in puzzlement, for the old man wasn't there anymore.