Lina and the others followed the dragon across the battlefield, threading through clashing swords, screaming soldiers, and roiling horses. Zelgadis found himself scanning the faces of the troops for anyone they knew. Distracted, his gaze drifted, and that's when the horseman flew onto the scene.
Before he even knew what it was, Zel collided with the horse, got tangled in its legs, and found himself tumbling to the ground. And that hurt. The horse's hooves were almost as stony as his skin, and he felt the places it made contact as if they were outlined in the shape of horseshoes.
The horse felt it too; it favored its left foreleg as it shied sideways. Its rider tried to keep the animal from bucking him off, all the while glaring down at Zel with obvious fury.
"Uh-oh…" Zel breathed. And the horseman charged.
The horse nickered and dove forward. It reared above him as the soldier drew his sword. Zel saw the hooves tread the air and heard the man's battle cry. And he threw out the first spell that came to mind.
"Freeze Arrow!"
Both horse and rider were cased in ice, frozen in a war pose, and Zel was left in the dust to catch his breath. That didn't last long though.
"Zel! Come on!" Lina yelled from afar, "We're gonna lose her!"
Zel scrambled up and rejoined them in the chase.
"What is Miss Filia doing here?" Amelia cried as they ran.
"We'll ask her when she lands," Lina answered.
It was as if she were responding to Lina's comment, because at that moment the golden dragon began to descend. Filia's reptilian body glowed as she started to transform nearer the ground. The four followed her into a crowd of soldiers.
"Wait," Amelia said as they slowed and began scanning the surrounding men for a blonde, mace-bearing woman, "I recognize some of these men…"
" Miss Lina! Everyone!" Filia waved to them from a command tent among the troops.
"Filia!" Lina called and they made their way through the crowd.
Once inside the tent with her, Filia asked, "What are you doing here? Did Prince Philionel send you too?"
"Send us?" Lina cocked her head.
"Are you working for Phil now, Filia?" Gourry asked.
"After he was wounded, Prince Philionel wanted someone strong and trustworthy to take his place commanding the troops," Filia blushed at the self-praise, "He came to the shop himself, even though he was hurt."
"He would," Lina nodded.
"Where are Jillas and Gravos?" Zelgadis asked.
Concern clouded Filia's eyes, and she turned her gaze toward the battlefield below. "Probably fighting," she said, "I worry about them. I told them not to come, to stay and watch the store, but they wouldn't let me go alone."
After the showdown against Valgaav, both Jillas and Gravos had sworn to serve Filia, now the last golden dragon alive. They worked for her in her antique shop, which was just outside of Seyruun but must have fallen into its jurisdiction. Phil would not have recruited them otherwise.
"Isn't that sweet," Xellos chuckled into existence, "Devoted servants are hard to come by nowadays."
"Why do you always bring him along?" Filia whined.
"We don't," Zel corrected her, "He tends to follow us." Xellos' pointed action of keeping Zelgadis between himself and the dragon did not go unnoticed to the chimera. The two were not exactly on friendly terms.
"And leave us in life threatening situations!" Lina snarled. Xellos shifted to stand further behind Zelgadis, but continued to smile affably.
"Oh, now, you needn't worry about me, Lina," the monster told her, "Instead, you may want to concentrate on Miss Amelia…"
It was an ominous comment, and it sent chills down Zel's spine. But it brought to light something he and the others had overlooked – Amelia was not in the tent with them.
"Where's Amelia?" Zel's eyes locked onto Lina's.
"She was with us," Lina shook her head, "Right outside. Right until…"
The three rushed outside and surveyed the multitude of faces. Filia and Xellos followed close behind. If Amelia was there, none of them saw her.
"Amelia?" Zel called, but there was no response, and all three of them felt the first caresses of fear. "Amelia!"
"Uh-oh!" Xellos said cheerfully but softly; Zel got the feeling it was meant for him.
Not that Zelgadis and the others would have any way of knowing, but Amelia was, at that moment, being dragged away from Seyruun's base camp. Four extremely tough looking beast-men had bundled her into an enchanted net and were currently taking her, she assumed, back to their base. Two were reptilian, and the other two resembled bears, one of which kept sniffing her and receiving snarls from his comrade.
"I hope this ends well…" Amelia whimpered.
