~* SLAYERS: FALLEN STARS *~
At last, the back to school rush is over! I tell ya, I worked my butt off during tax-free weekend, so much so that the Monday after I actually got sick (but still went to work that day). Took me about a week to feel better, but it was still awfully busy! It got to the point were my whole left side of my body was aching constantly, which reminded me that I should go see a chiropractor for some lingering injuries I received last year in a car accident and another accident were I slammed my left side into a brick wall while sledding a few years back. Yeah, stupid, I know. My left leg, hip, and arm have been bugging me since I started working a few years ago, and I've been meaning to go for a while. Got my first adjustment the other day, and OMG it made me so sore! But I'm glad I know what was really wrong with me now, and that I'm able to do something about it. I was very surprised to find out that I had a couple of vertebra rotated out of placed at my shoulder and hip and had a reverse-curved neck! Seriously, even with my two accidents I didn't think I could screw my neck up that much! What's worse, it could of had dire consequences later on in life and affect my thyroid. It makes me a little nervous because my mother died of Grave's disease three years ago, and sadly, we did not know what was making her so sick and her heart go haywire until two months before her death. By then, though we did not know it at the time, it was too late for her. Her trigger for her thyroid turned out to be a surgery she had as a child to remove a cyst. I remember the scar was right above where her thyroid would've been. It did not kick in until her twenties, and I'm a little older than she was when it happened. I was already exhibiting much milder forms of the same symptoms she had back then. I've had my blood taken recently showing my thyroid was fine, but apparently that did not mean I was out of danger. Amazing what a couple of out-of-place bones can do.
So, yeah, that was my little adventure from the past three weeks. This next month or so is suppose to be the quietest month in retail, so I should have no excuse making you wait more than a couple of days for an update.
Okay, no more waiting. Enjoy!
Chapter 38: Let's Play a Game
Edina stood wrapped in her dark cloak on top of a bell tower belonging to a small shrine in the middle of a city in the early morning sunlight eagerly awaiting the fun to begin.
Her body was still recovering from the last transference of power from the day before. It was the third time it resulted in her screaming in agony, but it was worth it. Already, she had been able to inflict far more damage with less effort when she aided some of her fellow monsters in devastating a couple of villages. There was no telling what else she would be capable of in the next couple of months. Each time made her stronger and also more valuable to both Dynast and Dark Star as an energy reserve.
Edina sincerely believed Grau was wrong when he said she could not handle it. It irritated her how comfortable he had become with his own position, never desiring to be more than Dynast's guard dog, while criticizing her for being ambitious. Sherra was not any less so, yet he had far more respect for her.
That shouldn't be a problem much longer, Edina thought to herself. The other lieutenants were behind her. They already treat her commands as if they were spoken from Dynast himself. Well, most of them.
As if her thoughts had called to him, Velcarr came up quietly beside her.
"My, Edina, you're looking cheery this morning. And might I add, you looking very lovely today," he said flatteringly.
Edina rolled her eyes, but did not look at him. "Are they coming?"
"They're coming," he answered sweetly. "Question. Is it really necessary to use so many demons? That sword and that pendant they're using are useful, but we could easily overwhelm them with half as many. It was pretty pathetic how Lina Inverse claimed she could handle those monsters last night, though I could tell she and her friends were scared out of their wits, almost like cornered animals," he laughed.
"Never underestimate Lina Inverse," Edina warned. "That's what got so many of us in trouble before. Besides, you forget, that isn't the point. They will be a big help in drawing out Vorfeed. Those cowardly nobles that whined for her help made a wonderful diversion and brought her and her friends where we wanted them."
Velcarr nodded. "Lina Inverse has a knack for destruction. I guess that's why Xellos tends to hang around her so much. If I had that much time on my hands, I'd be doing the same. He's probably around here, somewhere, isn't he?"
"Definitely, only this time its because of that dragoness with the pendant." Edina's eyes narrowed at mentioning Filia as she looked down on the humans below going about their daily business. "Make sure you isolate her and the hatchling from the others. Lord Dark Star is very interested in them, and if Lina Inverse refuses to agree to this, you know what to do."
"Will do." Velcarr did a little polite side bow.
"And don't lose your cool over anything stupid, okay?" she reminded him.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
Edina gave him a side grin and looked at him slyly. "You know exactly what I mean, Velcro."
"What the-" Velcarr nearly choked in embarrassment and balled his fists. "Where did you hear that!"
Edina doubled over in laughter. "That idiot swordsman may not be very bright, but he's funny as hell! Velcro! Sounds like some sort of adhesive!"
His face grew red. "What's so funny about adhesive?"
"Nothing!" Tears were starting to come out of her eyes. "Its the attachment you have to that stupid name of yours! Its hideous! Seriously, you need to change it!"
Velcarr folded his arms. "It's a perfectly fine name! And you need to watch yourself!"
She finally began to calm down taking big breaths and wiping her eyes. "Me? What do you mean?"
"Xellos will probably show himself when it starts," he said coolly. "The last thing we need is you chasing after him."
That earned him a dirty look. "I don't chase!" she yelled.
"Please, all the lieutenants know how that little failed attempt to seduce him made you so frustrated, you went to the nearest town and-"
"-That's enough!" Edina's morning was officially ruined. She shook a finger at Velcarr. "Just remember what you're supposed to do. And if that fucking Xellos does show up, make sure he doesn't interfere!"
With a little smile of satisfaction for getting his payback, Velcarr gave her another small bow. "Will do, Edina," he said overly pleasant, then phased out.
"That dumb ass!" Edina grumbled. "He better not screw this up!"
The city appeared to be untouched. There was no sign of panic or economic suffering that most other cities in the region were experiencing, and the atmosphere itself seemed to be quite pleasant, at least, to Lina and most of the other humans in their group.
But Torrin could tell it was not at all what it appeared to be. The negative vibes were so prevalent he was able to feel them long before they reached its walls, and when they past the gate, Filia's pendant began resonating wildly with the energy surrounding them. Poor Jean looked like he had some sort of tick as he shrugged his shoulders against the constant tingling caused by the pendant.
When they found the fountain with three dragons spouting water in the middle of the city square, they sat down on its ledge and silently waited as Velcarr instructed. Nobody seemed to notice or care they were there, making Lina feel a little unnerved.
She kept thinking about the story people in the last town told about outside help leaving after one lousy fight and thought it sounded a little off. More than likely, they either had been killed or intentionally driven off to discourage the townspeople further, in addition to attacks on the countryside where vital food supply was grown along with other necessities.
The city they were in now was most likely the next one on the list to get a good scare. Lina only hoped they will get a chance to figure out where Dark Star was hiding himself and was not too concerned about much else. She was not going to let those monsters conduct her actions with threats as Velcarr was obviously trying to do.
But Lina was very curious as to what Beastmaster was doing defying them, and why. As usual, the actions of her general priest were utterly confusing, but if Beastmaster truly was against Dark Star, then she had bigger problems than losing Filia and Val as an 'investment,' as Filia put it when she told Lina about Xellos' increasing watch over her.
The sorceress looked over at Val as he fussed with his blanket being wrapped securely around his wings and tail, his tiny fists tugging as hard as he could and his little fangs biting into it. If only a mere blanket was the worst of my problems, Lina thought.
"Say, when is this Velcro guy supposed to get here, anyway?" Gourry finally asked, breaking the silence.
"Its Velcarr!"
Everybody turned at the sound of his irritated voice and saw him standing on the fountain ledge, arms crossed, looking very pissed off.
"Well, Velcarr," Lina scathed with great emphasis as she and the others stood up, "Can you fill us in on why are we here?"
"We're here to play a little game," Velcarr told her with a scowl.
"Forget it," she said firmly. "We're not playing."
"Oh, I don't think you have much of a choice," he replied with his now familiar evil smile replacing his momentary anger.
"Oh, I think I do, you purple-haired freak!" Lina mocked.
Her comment about his hair did not get the kind of rise she was hoping out of him like his name did, though he did continue to scowl at her as he adjusted his specs. "Tell me, are you willing to turn me down at the cost of other people lives?"
"That depends on if I can find another way," she said.
"Lina," Torrin started.
She held her hand up. "I know what I'm doing, Egan."
"Do you?" Velcarr derided. "You haven't even heard the rules yet."
Lina opened her mouth to say something else, but Zelgadis beat her to it. "Then why don't you tell us already. We don't have all day."
Velcarr swept an arm in front of him. "Take a good look around you."
They all turned and looked.
Gourry could not quite put his finger on it but something was telling him they were being watched. "Is there someone else coming here?" he asked.
Zelgadis and Samira were also half expecting someone to come out, but their sharp eyes could not see anything but the usual town scene.
Torrin on the other hand, felt the negative energy grow like it was practically oozing out of the buildings around them, and he brought Filia a little closer to him.
She could not help but notice his arms shaking when he wrapped them around her. "Torrin, what's the matter?"
"It must be tough being a dragon," Velcarr said with mock concern. "Those pesky little demons are a real drain on your senses. Strange that your little girlfriend isn't affected though. Must be another one of the pendant's abilities."
"D-did you say demons?" Jean asked as his eyes darted around nervously.
"Yes, I did, little boy." The monster thoroughly enjoyed the terror growing inside of him as he was the only one out of the group who did not have a very good handle on his emotions when presented with a threat. "They can possess any object or creature they wish, and you can't see them."
"That's it then. This is just a big game of Hide and Seek," said Zelgadis.
"That's not fair if you can't see them at all," Gourry added. "Its cheating if they can disappear into things."
Velcarr shrugged. "No one said this was going to be fair. But then again, it probably is fair, considering your level of skill."
"Exactly how many of them are there?" Samira asked.
"Too many to count, I'm afraid," he answered. "I guess you'll just have to look for them to find out, and make sure they don't end up killing anyone in the process. You'll have until sundown."
She narrowed her dark eyes at him in disgust. "That is sick."
Lina shared her look. "Sounds simple enough, I guess."
It was the last thing she wanted to get involved in at the moment, but as Velcarr said earlier, they did not have much of a choice with lives on the line. Her mind began racing with ideas of out to get out of it without causing the kind of damage he wanted.
"Oh, and I have one more condition," said Velcarr as he pointed to Filia. "She comes with me."
Jean immediately hopped in front of her and drew his cutlass.
Torrin whipped out his axe and placed it between Filia and Velcarr. "She's not going anywhere with you!" he growled.
"Fine, then you can take her." Velcarr waved a hand towards the bell tower of the shrine facing the plaza. "Up there will do."
"What for?" Filia asked.
"For leverage, of course," he said. "None of us can touch you as long as you have that pendant on, but with all this fighting, I can't promise you won't be crushed under a falling building. Dark Star wouldn't appreciate that."
She looked up at the tower then back at him. "But I could still try to leave," she said. "I'm not as helpless as I seem."
"I've no doubts about that, but you won't, unless you want us to gang up on one of your friends." Velcarr stepped down from the ledge, then looked down on Jean who had his cutlass pointing at him and smiled. "I could start with the kid."
The next second, he felt a blade touch his neck.
"Try it, and you won't get very far," Samira warned.
He sighed and gently pushed the blade away with a couple of fingers. "Enough with the sharp knives and the threats. They can't do any-hmmm…"
Velcarr looked at his fingers and saw that they had two clean, deep cuts.
"Interesting." He touched his neck where there was another deep cut. "And I thought Blondie was the only one with special sword."
"Yeah, we're full of surprises, aren't we?" smirked Lina.
"Too bad it doesn't do any actual damage." Velcarr healed the cuts quickly. "Good for a quick getaway though. This'll be fun." He turned his attention back to Filia and Torrin and motioned for the dragon to put his weapon away. "Come, we're wasting time. The rest of you, stay here."
Torrin warily put his axe away, and the both of them began following the monster.
Jean caught Filia's arm pleadingly. "Miss Filia, don't!"
"It'll be okay, Jean," she said, gently removing his hand. "Stay close to Lina."
His head fell in compliance as Lina tentatively took him by the shoulder. Filia quietly thanked her with a nod before moving on.
Torrin kept a firm grip on her while walking across the square and up the steps of the shrine. Velcarr led them to a nice little spot along the ledge of the tower from where everything could be seen and the wind whipped around so that it was easy to lose one's balance. A railing that went over everyone's heads guarded against any fatal missteps.
"Now, you see that she is perfectly safe here, so there's no need to worry," Velcarr assured.
"I still don't want to leave her alone up here," Torrin said insistently.
"She won't be alone," said a female's voice from behind the bell, then she stepped out where they could see her. "I'm sure you've heard of me from Xellos."
Torrin was stumped, but Filia remembered. "You're Edina."
Edina looked the dragoness up and down as she approached and smirked. "So, you're his pet dragon."
"Excuse me?" Filia said with offense.
Edina ignored her. "I hear Xellos has a fondness for her," she told Torrin.
"Yes, I'm well aware of that," he replied with a glare.
Her last comment made Filia rather nervous, and she tried her best to keep calm so as to not draw too much of Edina's attention. It either worked, or the monster did not care because her attention was absorbed in taking in Torrin. Edina made eyes at him like she was imagining doing something very debauched.
A bit of jealousy crept into Filia, though the dragoness knew it was very stupid to feel that way towards a monster who was probably imagining disemboweling them in the same thought.
"Well, I'm here to make sure in case Xellos shows up that he keeps his hands off of her," Edina finally said, her eyes still lingering on the dragon.
Torrin pulled Filia a little closer. "I don't believe you."
"In case you didn't know, he's not with us," said Velcarr. "And we have no reason to lie. We have just as much interest in her as Xellos does."
The dragon shook his head. "That still doesn't give me enough of a reason to leave her alone with you."
Edina sighed. "We'll return her when we're done, I promise."
"Still not good enough!" Torrin almost snapped.
"Torrin, I think you better go," Filia said suddenly.
She was beginning to understand what this was about now. Edina was there to talk to her in hopes of gaining information, and some of it involved things that neither of them want the others to know.
Torrin looked at her, surprised. "I can't just leave you-!"
"-I'll be fine," she quickly assured "They can't touch me, remember?"
He stared at her for a few more moments as if he were trying to understand, then sighed and shook his head again. "I can't…"
Filia stood up on her toes and gave him a small kiss before backing out of his arms, but then Torrin picked her up and gave her a deeper kiss, refusing to let her go so easily until Val began protesting. He sat her down and laid another kiss on top of Val's teal head, something he had never done before.
Val looked up in pleasant surprise and patted his face. "Ba!"
"At least he's oblivious," Torrin said jokingly with a failed smile. He stroked the hatchling's hair, making him squirm and giggle.
"Are we done here?" There was a hint of impatience in Velcarr's voice. "We can't start until you leave."
Torrin gave him a look of repulsion. "You mean you won't start until I leave."
The monster waved a dismissive hand. "Potato, potato, you've said your goodbyes already, now lets get moving!"
Torrin reluctantly let his arms slip away from Filia and made his way to the stairs, glancing at Edina who was still watching him before disappearing down the stairs into the floor. Velcarr then phased out, leaving Filia and Edina completely alone.
"My, my, where did you catch a hunk like him?" Edina asked, finally acknowledging her presence again.
The slight jealousy inside Filia grew, but she tried to inject a bit of humor into the situation. "You have to look in an alley during the midday heat. More often than not, they'll just come to you."
Edina chuckled. "I don't know how you do it, but you somehow got both of them hooked without hardly lifting a finger. But then, Xellos did mention you used to have quite a temper, capable of flattening entire towns, and I'm thinking that the only thing the Dimos is interested in, is your innocence."
"I've changed," said Filia, miffed. "I don't rampage through cities like a spoilt hatchling anymore. As for Torrin's interest, its none of your business."
"So, the ignorant little dragoness thinks she's all grown up." Edina tilted her head condescendingly. "You spend a mere two years living amongst humans, and you believe that's enough to understand how the world works?"
She pulled off her cloak revealing her favorite black corset and purple skirt outfit and flaunted her figure as she floated over to Filia, stopping just a foot away in case the pendant decided to put up a barrier.
"Tell me, does the Dimos prefer you on your back, or does he like having you rocking on top?"
Filia's face flushed madly, and her hand automatically covered one of Val's ears and held the other against her like she did when Jillas sometimes went on a profanity-laced rant when something he was fixing was not cooperating.
Edina burst out laughing. "Wise in the ways of the world, but still a virgin! Do you want me to give you a little lesson about the birds and the bees?"
"I don't need a monster to lecture me!" Filia shot back, feeling very embarrassed.
"Okay, I understand." The monster waved her hand. "For a dragon, you're a little young to know anyway."
Filia narrowed her eyes. "What do you want to talk to me about?"
"Xellos," she replied, calming down. "I know you two have something going on behind everyone else's back." When she saw the dragoness squirm and felt the guilt wash over her, Edina added, "Don't worry, I won't tell the Dimos what you're up to. I enjoy having little affairs on the side myself."
"We barely have a friendship, let alone, having an affair," said Filia, almost like she was trying to convince herself as well.
Edina could tell what Filia was thinking and smiled. "Judging by your reaction, Its definitely something, but I'm a bit concerned with how you seem to preoccupy Xellos' thoughts lately."
"I have no control over what that creep thinks," Filia huffed. "He's nosy beyond belief."
She could not remember the last time she called Xellos that. Other than being called garbage, it was the thing that he hated most.
"Yes, he does get under one's skin, doesn't he? Which brings me to ask," Edina pointed to her neck, "what does he know about that pendant your wearing?"
That was the question Filia was anticipating. "It protects me from any monster attack," she said simply.
"I know that, but there's something else is there? C'mon, you can tell me," Edina urged. "I'm sure during one of your intimate moments together he would've let some bit of information slip. He's also able to approach you without any problems. Why's that?"
"Probably because he poses no threat to me," said Filia, finding it a little easier to remain calm now. "And you ought to know better. Xellos is known to keep his secrets."
Edina held up a finger to her lips to mimic Xellos. "'That is a secret!'" She laughed. "You're right, I should know better, but that doesn't mean he won't tell you something on purpose."
"So I would end up telling you? Fat chance." It crossed Filia's mind before, even though Xellos made her promise.
"Doesn't hurt to ask," Edina shrugged. "Every little bit helps."
"And I told you what we both know," asserted Filia. "There's nothing else to say."
The monster floated around from a safe distance, gauging her coolness and figured that she was most likely telling the truth, so there was no reason to pursue the subject further, but then she decided to switch gears to see if there was any real fears to leech off of. "Then I guess I should ask if you're wondering why Lord Dark Star is after you?"
Filia felt her heart drop like she always did at the mention of his name and saw Edina grin so widely, it did not look human.
"I haven't a clue why," she said in a small voice.
"Honestly, I don't either," said Edina looking all to happy that she struck a dreadful nerve. "As far as I can tell, its just out of curiosity as you have no real value to him, but I know he's able to reach you in your dreams."
Filia could feel her knees begin to knock together and her stomach churn. She always felt scared out of breath whenever she thought about it as they compounded on the terror from the horrible nightmares she had during the previous two years.
Little Val was sensing her discomfort and began squirming in Filia's arms. Taking a couple of deep breaths, she reminded herself there was nothing Dark Star could do other than scare her at this point.
She lightly bounced Val in an attempt to calm him down as she stared at Edina with as much tenacity as she could drum up. "But he can't actually touch me now, can he?"
Edina was a little impressed. She half expected the dragoness to collapse in a panic. "We'll find a way around it eventually," she said. "Some of your friends would make great hostages."
A loud bang shook the bell tower, and the both of them went over to the ledge to look.
Lina and the others were no longer in the square, and there were a bunch of people stopped in their tracks wondering what just happened. Filia's eyes searched frantically for them, then spotted Zelgadis and Alyssa running out of what appeared to be a blacksmith's shop down one of the streets connected to the square. They were being chased by half a dozen swords held by invisible hands.
"There they go," said Edina calmly with and undertone of excitement. "I wonder how long they will last."
I always say this, but during the back to school rush, I got really stuck in a couple of places in this chapter and kept re-writing some of it, but it just did not sound right and finally had to back off for a while. It sounds fine now, but I still feel something's missing, so don't be shy in letting me know how to improve this. I'm about to start posting my story on my deviantArt account (under the same name I have here) as well as the Beloved Enemy fan site, and I'm going back and re-reading my earlier stuff to correct errors and to make sure it flows properly. There may be some significant changes and there may not, it depends. Plus, I hope to add actual drawings!
I remember someone requesting that I start doing profiles for my OCs, so what I'll do is tag a couple of profiles at the end of the chapters to help you guys keep up with them. Here we go:
Edina - One of the 'lieutenants' under Dynast Grausherra's command. She is basically a mid-level monster, capable of blending completely into the physical world with a projected human form, but she took it further and over time with a lot of hard work, learned how to mimic other aspects of the human form like the higher ranking monsters are able to do easily. She's very ambitious, but also as Xellos described in an earlier chapter a 'moocher' because her tendency to attach herself to someone more powerful than her to make herself seem more powerful than she actually is. One of her most famous attempts was when she tried to seduce Xellos himself (which backfired). From that point on she developed an infatuation with him and hates it when others, particularly Filia and even Lina when Xellos first met her, are showered with special attention from him.
She doesn't like Dynast's priest Grau at all and considers him to be a real stiff. Edina ignores his protests to her going along with Dark Star in acquiring power from Dynast for Dark Star's use.
I don't know how others view this, but in my story, though monsters are usually not capable of or wish to feel love for anyone but their creator (unless they want to risk weakening themselves), lust is a major source of power for them like negative emotions are because when you think about it, it is a form of greed, and to a certain extent, a desire to have control over someone (or at least the illusion of control). Edina thrives on this, as you may already know, which is why she latched onto Dark Star so quickly. He symbolizes the ultimate power she longs for.
Appearance wise, she has long thick black hair usually tied up in a bow that often matches what she's wearing, has straight cut bangs, very fair skin, her eyes are blue-black, and she has a very curvy figure ( as if you didn't get that already from my many descriptions of her, heheh). Her most common outfit is a short purple skirt with a black velvet corset and a white off-the shoulder top with poof sleeves, black leggings and shin high white platform boots, and a purple bow in her hair. When she met Dark Star for the first time, he gave her a gold necklace with five lavender pearls on it and matching earrings which she never takes off (even when she has nothing on). Pretty detailed, but I've been planning on drawing my Ocs for a while, so it helps to have little things like that to make them personal.
Velcarr - A very recent addition, he is also a 'lieutenant' and is sort of a hands off kind of guy who much rather just observe or direct rather than participate. Right now, he is one of many presiding over a piece of the peninsula passing orders off to lower monsters.
Appearance wise, he has what I described earlier 'a very scholarly look to him with militaristic elements that all of Dynast's lieutenants wore, evident by the shoulder fringes on his navy cloak and the black boots. He even bothered to add a pair of glasses to the ensemble.' He also has purple tousled hair and sideburns. Eye color is a tricky thing. Anyone know a good color that'll go with purple hair?
Since he is a more minor character, I figured I better make him stand out somehow and gave him a funny name, heh.
Don't forget to review now! ~NB~