Slayers: Evolution

Chapter 14

Fear of failure must never be a reason not to try...

Dark elves.

Devils of the Underdark.

Drow.

They were known by many names. All shared a single characteristic: Their utterance inspired fear wherever they want.

Lina knew she was in trouble. These creatures lived for centuries. Their experience, knowledge, and knack for cruelty could be matched by few. Even as powerful of a sorceress as she was, she would have been hard pressed to deal with one dark elf. And here she was finding herself facing no less than three! Three!

What to do? What to do! The usual opener with a fireball probably wouldn't work here. Magic was as much a part of these creatures' lives as breathing was for humans. Lina didn't have to use her mage senses to know they were surrounded by layers upon layers of protective wards. The air in the room practically tingled from them.

"Dammit, Zel!" Lina cursed to herself. "Where are you?"

Two of the dark elves were warriors, guessing from their stance and the swords they carried. The third appeared to be a sorceress or even a priestess. Chaotic runes danced across her robes with every movement. There was no question who was in charge here. She barked orders in a tongue Lina couldn't understand and the two obeyed.

One of the warriors lifted a hand to Lina. At first, she thought he was pointing at her. The needle-sharp pain she felt lance through her neck told her otherwise. She slapped a hand to her neck and pulled out a tiny dart.

"That...stings..." Lina heard herself say as the dizziness hit her. Strange how her voice sounded so distant, almost surreal, like a dream. The world fell out from beneath her feet and all she knew was darkness.

It was hard telling how long she was out. It could have been seconds. It could have been minutes. What Lina did know when she came too was that there was a heavy weight on top of her. She opened her eyes to find the warrior that shot her lying across her, dead. His neck had been crushed, and not in a gentle way. The flesh was a mess of red, purple, and blue splotches were muscle and bone had been crushed to a bloody pulp.

What did I miss? Lina wondered in wide-eyed astonishment.

The clash of steel drew her attention to more immediate matters. She looked up just in time to see Zelgadis drive his sword through the heart of the other drow warrior, pinning her corpse to the wall. He hadn't escaped the battle unscathed. He was bleeding from more than a dozen cuts. He couldn't be in too bad of shape, though. He was still on his feet and slowly advancing towards the drow sorceress. They had begun exchanging words in the same language that Lina didn't understand. From his heated tone, she was certain he was spitting curses at the dark elf.

Well, she wasn't about to let Zelgadis take all the credit for dealing with the dark elves. Lina pushed the dead drow off of her—an effort easily accomplished thanks to her enchanted gloves. As tempting as it was to throw a fireball, that still wasn't the best idea, even with only one drow to deal with. She settled for doing the next best thing.

"Lighting!"

The drow sorceress screamed against the painfully bright light. To a creature that lived underground where the touch of the sun never reached, the simple spell was a devastating attack. She turned and fled, half blind.

Lina was ready to follow until she heard Zelgadis call out after her.

"You're alive!" the chimera cried in disbelief.

"Of course I'm alive," she flashed him her best smiled. "It takes more than a petty drow poison to defeat Lina Inverse, Sorceress Supreme! Now come on! We have to follow—" His arms wrapping around her in a tight hug stopped her in her tracks.

"Thank Ceiphieed!" he panted heavily. "I thought...I thought you were dead."

"Do you mind, Zel? We have to catch that sorceress before she gets away. And you're bleeding all over me." She could already feel the blood soaking through her clothes. Worry swept over her in a cold chill. "How bad are you hurt?"

"Sorry...I guess...I..I guess..." She just barely caught him as he collapsed.

"Hey! I didn't say you could pass out on me! Zel? Dammit, don't make me carry you! You're heavy!" It was all she could do to keep the panic out of her voice. She immediately began casting a healing spell. She was by no means a cleric, but this would at least stop the bleeding.

In the distance she could hear urgent shouts and footsteps of Rosencratz's guards approaching.

"About time someone showed up," Lina muttered angrily.

Once the guards had secured the area, Rosencratz immediately sent for his personal physician to take care of Zelgadis. In the meantime, Lina was given the grim task of explaining the hole in the wall and why a room filled with expensive statues and imported furniture was destroyed. It was one of those ordeals that sounded a lot simpler than it was, especially since her host's brow was set in a baleful glare the entire time. To Rosencratz's credit, he was attentive and listened patiently, only asking questions after Lina was finished explaining a particular moment.

At dawn Lina was finally dismissed, but not before renegotiating their contract. Dealing with dark elves had never been part of the equation. No sane person would dare cross their path without good reason. Lots and lots and lots of extra gold certainly made the task more bearable.

The first thing she did after returning to her room was order a bath and a change of clothes. Her clothes were stiff with Zelgadis's blood. It was all she could do not to run out of the room to be at his side. Thankfully, the physician had kept them updated on his condition throughout the night. He would recover without suffering any permanent harm.

Lina was just glad he was alive.

Since her 'normal' work clothes were unfit for wear at the moment, Lina swapped them for a spare set. Today she wore a green and red short sleeved tunic with dark pants and a cape. She hadn't worn the outfit in years, but there was a certain sense of satisfaction that she could still fit into it without any trouble.

Refreshed and ready, she headed for his room. She found Zelgadis lying in bed still being tended to by the physician. The healer finished wrapping his arm with a bandage enchanted to speed healing, then nodded politely to both guests before departing.

"How are you feeling?" Lina asked once the door was shut.

Zelgadis sat up, wincing as his body protested. "If that doctor makes me drink one more of his god-awful potions, so help me..."

"Care for some cheese with that wine?" she quipped. "You deserve a little punishment. You were in no condition to take on two dark elves by yourself. You're still recovering from Gaia Rebirth. Or had you forgotten?"

"No, I haven't. It's not like you are in much better condition."

"Hey! They attacked me first!"

"I noticed," he replied flatly.

"Speaking of which, where were you? When I got there I didn't see you anywhere in the room."

"I was there. I was watching everything from inside the wall."

"You were hiding behind the wall?"

"No, I was in the wall. I can ask the spirits of stone to grant me cover when necessary. If the spirits are in good humor I can essentially pass through a stone wall as easily as fog."

That was an interesting ability. She would have to remember that for future possibilities. There was no telling when that could come in handy. "When did you learn that?"

"A long, long time ago. About the same time I learned that my golem part allowed me to easily communicate with earth spirits. And whatever you are plotting, the answers is, No!"

"What?" she asked innocently.

"You think I can't read your expressions? I can tell when the gears in your mind are turning. You're thinking of some way to use my ability to your advantage."

Lina laughed. "You know me too well."

"...or maybe not well enough," he whispered under his breath.

"Did you say something?" She wasn't certain she heard him correctly.

"I said I don't like this bed. The mattress is too soft."

"That is an odd complaint to hear from someone with stone skin."

"Just because I have stone skin doesn't mean I can't feel." His eyes roamed over her attire, admiring the new features mixed with the old. "Nice outfit. New clothes?"

"This is an older one. You kinda bled all over the other one."

"Oh. Sorry."

"Don't worry. When this is over you're going to take me shopping for a new one."

Given his experience the last time Lina had gotten a new article of clothing, Zelgadis didn't know whether to consider that a promise or a threat.

"How did you survive the poison dart? From what I have heard, the drow use some pretty nasty stuff. Their sleep poisons are capable of even putting down demons."

"Well," Lina scratched her head sheepishly, "a long time ago I learned the Nightmare Energy in my system is pretty potent stuff, and not just to me. Anytime a foreign substance enters my system, whether it's a virus or a poison, the Nightmare Energy destroys it almost instantly." She shrugged helplessly. "It's one of the few benefits of my condition. Just don't ask how I learned that."

"I'm relieved you are alive. Try to be more careful in the future. You only get one life, you know."

Lina stuck her tongue out at him. "It's not like I plan these things. Besides, you're one to talk!" she scolded, her voice turning serious. "What's the deal with going berserk against those dark elves? You killed two of them, but got yourself cut to ribbons in the process.

His face was impassive, but she could see the pain in his eyes—the pain of worrying for a dearly beloved friend. "I...I thought you were dead. When I saw you collapse...I didn't care what happened to me so long as I made them pay."

She allowed herself a small grin.

"What are you smiling about?"

"Nothing. I just like to start the day off with a smile. I thought I would get it done and out of the way."

His eyes narrowed suspiciously at her.

"What?"

"I worry when I see a woman wearing that kind of smile, even more when its you."

She couldn't help but laugh. "When you finally manage to drag yourself out of bed, we're supposed to meet with Rosencratz for breakfast."

"What about? And has anyone warned the cooks about your appetite?"

"Our new duties," she replied, ignoring the latter question. "We have been promoted to full time bodyguards until after the ball."

"I hope that promotion comes with a healthy pay raise." To be honest, he wasn't exactly happy to hear about it. Dealing with dark elves was exhausting, to say the least.

"Of course. I negotiated the contract myself," Lina replied proudly. "I had to keep busy somehow while you were recovering."

"How much are we getting paid now?"

The figure she named left his jaw on the floor. With that much gold they wouldn't have to worry about travel expenses for weeks—possibly months—even with Lina's monstrous appetite! They could eat at the finest restaurants, stay at the most expensive resorts, and still not have to worry about money for a long, long time.

"How...How did you manage to get him to agree to that price?" Zelgadis asked once he managed to pick his lower jaw up.

"I am a merchant's daughter," Lina winked at him mischievously. "He is paying for the best, after all: Lina Inverse, the Invincible Sorceress Supreme!" she cheered, then added almost as an afterthought, "Oh, and the Heartless Sorcerer-Swordsman, Zelgadis Greywers, of course. We can't forget about you."

"You don't think much of yourself at all, do you?" the chimera deadpanned.

"A girl has to make a living."

"I think you're just being greedy."

Lina feigned hurt. "I will have you know I am the most selfless person you will ever meet! Whenever I have money, I get rid of it quickly, lest it find its way to my heart!"

Zelgadis opened his mouth, but no words came out. He simply couldn't think of a proper response to that.

"No snappy come back?"

He sighed. "This is your logic at work again, isn't it?"
"I can't help it if no one understands my genius."

"I think I know why Lazlore stopped arguing with you."

"Yea, he could never handle my greatness."

"If that is the way you feel, we could skip all this subtly with Rosencratz's enemies and put up a sign on his lawn," Zelgadis suggested. "Property guarded by fireball crazed sorceress three days a week. Guess which days." He couldn't quite hide his smirk from the sharp glare Lina cast at him.

"Would you like to learn the answer right now?"

"I'm injured. Remember?"

"That's okay. Injuries heal." She grabbed a fresh set of his clothes from the dresser and dropped them in his lap. "Get dressed. Try not to take all day." She knelt down to plant a quick kiss on his cheek.

He gently reached out to clasp her hand between his. "Lina," he said softly, "I've been rethinking a lot of things. I mean, what you said last night...could we discuss it over dinner tonight?"

Her smile made his heart melt. "I would love to. But let's take care of business first, all right?"

"All right."

"Don't think this changes how we split the pay," she said in a matter-of-fact tone. "We're still dividing things eighty-twenty. Got it?"

Zelgadis merely rolled his eyes. If money couldn't buy happiness, Lina would at least be miserable in comfort.