Chapter Nine: Now Kera's the Enemy

Chapter Nine: Now Kera's the Enemy?

Pain. Hot, searing pain that made her twist in agony. Then, cool blackness. Kera wanted to give in completely to the comforting darkness but something in her warned her not to do so. It took every last bit of her weakening willpower not to submit to the release of death. But she was tired, so very tired. Surely a little rest would not matter? Then came the terror. First Garv appeared, brandishing his large sword. He slashed at her continuously and she was powerless to retaliate. She could only scream with pain. Garv was suddenly replaced with a child, a dark-haired boy of about six or seven. He looked innocent, but when he grinned, Kera knew that he was not all he seemed.

A small, golden ball appeared, floating above the boy's palm. He looked at it, then grasped it tightly with his index finger and thumb. Horrified without understanding why, Kera wanted to scream but no voice came from her throat. Very slowly, the boy's finger and thumb became closer and closer together, squeezing the golden ball. The ball cracked… and Kera was gripped by tremendous pain. She rolled on the ground, her shaking hands grasping her sides.

Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice saying, "It's all right now, Kera-chan. I'll get you to safety."

Listlessly, she opened her eyes and saw… Xelloss. Where was he carrying her to? "To a safe place, where no one will hurt you anymore."

Reassured by his words, Kera closed her eyes. And saw Garv coming at her with his sword again. She screamed and shuddered as his blows hit her again and again.

Xelloss gazed ruefully at the trembling girl he held in his arms. So she had faced the Chaos-Dragon Garv all alone? And had injured him severely, according to his master. Nevertheless, she was only a child. A powerful sorceress, but still only a child. She would still remember this event in her nightmares in years to come. He gripped his staff more tightly as Kera flinched from another imaginary attack. Covering her body with his own cape, Xelloss continued on his way to where Lina Inverse and the others were currently staying.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun heard an urgent-sounding knock on her door. Yawning, she got up sleepily to answer it. "Who is it? Wha- Xelloss-san! What are you doing here? Don't you know what time it is now?"

"This is an emergency, Amelia," said Xelloss seriously as he carefully laid Kera facedown on the bed. "If you don't heal her fast, she's going to die!"

Amelia took one startled glance at the extent of the girl's back injuries and immediately started to work her magic. After a while, she paused and told Xelloss, "Call Lina-san here. I'll need her help too. Please hurry!"

Xelloss nodded once and vanished. Amelia instantly continued to cast Resurrection on Kera. If only Sylphiel were here, she thought desperately. The princess of Sairaag had been the one who taught Amelia the powerful healing spell. Wearing her pajamas, Lina burst into the room looking stunned. "What happened? Xelloss told me that there was an emergency and you needed my help! Who's she?"

"I don't know," replied Amelia, shaking her head. "Xelloss brought her to me and ordered me to heal her. She's been injured very badly."

Lina gazed at Kera's blood-soaked clothes and at Xelloss' similarly stained cape. Where did the Mazoku find this girl? She looked like she was a sorceress and had a long sword buckled to her belt. How did she get so seriously injured? They would certainly get little or no information out of Xelloss himself. Perhaps the girl would tell them when she recovered. "I don't see how I can help you, Amelia," said Lina regretfully. "I don't know Resurrection and casting Recovery may well kill her."

"You don't have to do anything, Lina-san," said Amelia as she concentrated on healing Kera. "Just your presence is enough. As you know, the spell Resurrection uses the energy drawn from nearby life forms to heal the person."

"So you need my energy?" Lina asked. "Why don't you call Gourry and Zelgadiss here too?"

Amelia looked embarrassed. "That's because I will have to remove some of her clothes later so that I can make sure that the wound is healing properly. And when she wakes up later, she's not going to be very happy if she finds out…"

"That's easy," said Lina. "I'll just tell the guys to face the wall. The first one who turns around to look gets a Fireball. Xelloss! I know you're around here somewhere. Get Gourry and Zelgadiss here!"

There was no answer but the three men soon came into the room. "What's the matter, Lina?" Gourry asked, yawning widely.

"KERA!!" Zelgadiss shouted when he saw who the injured girl was. He dashed to the bed and gazed in horror at the great slash on her back. "Tell me who did this to her!" he demanded, grabbing Xelloss by the collar.

"I'm not supposed to tell you now," said Xelloss, looking uncomfortable in Zelgadiss' grip. "But if you really want to know, it was a very powerful Mazoku."

"What?! Another Mazoku?" Zelgadiss exclaimed.

"It wasn't just any Mazoku…" muttered Xelloss under his breath. "Even I would not be able to defeat him…"

"So this is Kera?" Lina said, gazing down at the fragile-looking girl.

"Who?" Gourry asked, confused as usual.

"Never mind about that now, Gourry," said Lina. "The three of you, turn around and face the wall until I tell you not to. Or else, you'll get a Fireball."

Xelloss, Zelgadiss and Gourry immediately turned around. "What's the point of getting us here, then?" Zelgadiss asked.

"Amelia needs your energy to heal Kera by using Resurrection," Lina explained. "But, the last part of the healing process needs…um, er… some of Kera's clothes to be… er… taken off."

Zelgadiss blushed. Lina smirked and said, "Any more questions?"

Gourry raised his hand. "May I ask a question? Who is Kera?"

Lina sweatdropped and said, "She's the girl who is being healed by Amelia now, dummy. She used to travel with Zel on the way to Zoana. Amelia, are you done yet?"

"Not yet, Lina-san," replied Amelia. "I'll be done in a short while… Phew. I'm done now."

After covering the peacefully sleeping Kera with a blanket, Amelia sat down on the floor, feeling exhausted. It was a good thing that Lina-san had asked the others to come or. Since Kera was a close friend of Zelgadiss, she had done her best to heal her and had succeeded. Zelgadiss, Lina and Gourry came over to stand beside the bed. Xelloss picked up his cape, flipped it once then put it on. "Thank you, Amelia," said Xelloss as he bent down to pat her on the shoulder.

"You don't have to thank me, Xelloss-san," replied Amelia. "It was my duty. Anyway, everyone contributed their energy."

"So, did Kera destroy that Mazoku?" Lina asked Xelloss.

"No," he replied, his hair hiding his eyes.

"NO?!" Lina and Zelgadiss said loudly.

"Hush! You'll wake Kera up!" Amelia scolded.

"What do you mean by 'No'?" said Zelgadiss in a quieter voice.

"Exactly what it means. No, she did not destroy the Mazoku, even though he was terribly injured by her," said Xelloss. "Don't ask me about the details because I don't know either. I just found her lying in a desert and brought her here."

"So how did you know she fought the powerful Mazoku?" Lina asked in deep suspicion.

"Now, that is a secret," smiled Xelloss.

Zelgadiss grabbed him by the collar again. "Tell me, or else…"

"Or else what?" said Xelloss, disappearing once more.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Outside the room, a shadowy figure hovered just outside the window, watching silently. Then it also disappeared.

"So what are we going to do about her?" Gourry asked.

"We'll wait until she's recovered before we continue travelling," said Lina. "She might want to come to Seyruun with us."

Zelgadiss nodded agreement. Lina continued, "Meanwhile, you two guys go back to your rooms. Amelia and I will keep watch here in case any Mazoku should attack."

"All right," said Zelgadiss as he and Gourry walked out of the room, closing the door behind them.

"Amelia, if you're tired, go ahead and sleep," said Lina. "I'll wake you when I get tired."

Yawning, Amelia said, "It's all right, Lina-san. I'm not that sleepy yet."

"If you say so, Amelia."

"Lina-san?"

"What is it, Amelia?"

"Do- do you think that Zelgadiss-san likes Kera-san?" said Amelia shyly.

"Well, I dunno. It may be possible," replied Lina thoughtfully. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, er, nothing, nothing at all…"

"Hmmph! What I really want to know is why Xelloss brought her here and how he knows what he does," remarked Lina. "Attacked by a very powerful Mazoku, eh? Hmm…"

"Maybe he was just being kind," suggested Amelia.

"Hello? We're talking about Xelloss here," said Lina. "He never does anything without a really good reason."

"That's true," agreed Amelia as she yawned again.

"What do you think he's up to, Amelia?" asked Lina.

There was no answer. Amelia was already asleep beside Kera. Lina smiled, then also started feeling very sleepy. "Maybe I'll rest for a little while," she said, laying her head on her folded arms. She was asleep in a few seconds.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The room became filled with a ghostly green-white light. "Arise, Kera," came a deep, echoing voice. "Come to me."

As if hypnotised, Kera got up and walked towards the voice. She became infused with the greenish light and started to walk out of the room. In the corridor, Zelgadiss was also fast asleep. Gourry was snoring inside his own room. When she was outside the inn, Kera looked up at the sky and chanted, "Levitation!"

Suddenly, Xelloss appeared in front of her. "Where are you going, Kera-chan? Surely you're not so rude as to leave without thanking them for healing you?"

Without hesitation, Kera shot a Fireball at Xelloss. The Trickster Priest dodged the first attack easily but was grazed by the Flare Lance and nearly hit by the Garv Flare that she fired at him. "What the- Kera?" Xelloss said, surprised that she was attacking him so viciously. "What are you doing?!"

"Elmekia Lance!" called a voice from behind them.

Kera evaded the spirit magic attack, then retaliated with another Elmekia Lance. Lina yelped as she quickly darted away. Amelia and Zelgadiss were hovering in the air beside her. "I told you she learns damn fast," said Zelgadiss, narrowing his eyes at Kera. "If Xelloss hadn't awakened us, she would have disappeared already. Kera! Where are you going?"

The girl did not answer but continued to stare at them with cold, jade-green eyes. "She's being controlled by someone," said Xelloss, both his purple-red eyes open.

"Huh? Who could it be? Why?" Amelia asked, looking scared.

"Whoever it is, he's gonna pay," said Lina, flying towards Kera.

Kera flew further away, then closed her eyes and chanted, "Darkness from twilight, crimson from blood that flows, buried in the flow of time; in Thy great name, I pledge myself to darkness. Those who oppose us shall be destroyed by the power you and I possess!"

"What?! The Dragon Slave?" Lina said, appalled. "How can she-? Everyone, run!"

"Dragon Slave!" Initially, Kera was aiming at Xelloss, then she suddenly switched direction and aimed at Lina instead. Shocked beyond belief, Lina could only stand and stare as death came towards her. The crimson flame engulfed her completely.

"LINA-SAN!!" Amelia cried as the explosion occurred. "NO!!!"

Zelgadiss stared at the red ball of flame in horror. He simply could not believe his eyes. "No, this can't be happening," he whispered. "LINA!!"

~ ~ ~ The End of Chapter 9 ~ ~ ~

Kera! What are you doing?! Will Lina be killed? Stay tuned ^_~