Chap 8 - Birds in the Maze
Xaina laid on her side in the bed for a long time thinking...Mostly she thought about her mother. "You're not like other children, Xaina baby," her mother use to say. "You are destined for greater things. I see it in the cards." Her mother was a fortune teller and healer...mother...oh how she missed her mother. She clutched Booie closer to her body. She had been so thin when she died...she had been so pale...everyone had cried. She had said the gods were kind to those who worshipped and did good things...she had said they only punished the bad...then why had she died. Xaina could never remember a time when her mother wasn't helping people. So why had she died? It didn't make sense. She felt a few tears swell in her eyes.
Nothing makes sense, the girl reminded herself. Lina said monsters don't have feelings...good feelings, anyway. They only do things that help themselves. Filia said the same thing. She looked at her hands. They didn't looked like a monster's hands. They looked human. Then again, Xellos and Zelas looked human and they weren't. She sat up, brushing some of the tears out of her eyes. Then she inspected the moisture on her hands. "If I'm a monster, then why would I be crying?" she pondered aloud. "Monsters don't cry. They have no reason to cry. They don't feel sadness."
"What makes you think that?"
Xaina started, catching her breath in her throat. She turned to see Xellos sitting in the chair by the glass doors, moonlight falling on his face. His usual smile was worn on his face. A sense of anger at being spied on replaced her fear. She folded her arms together, turned up her nose, and closed her eyes bitterly. "You shouldn't ease drop."
"You look just like your mother when you do that," he happily said. The statement caught her off guard, and she looked over at him, confused.
"And what would you know about her?"
"You didn't think I didn't watch you and her, now did you?" She was silent. She refused to look at him. Instead she focused her attention to the garden outside. "I didn't make her sick, if that's what you think..."
"I wasn't," she stated coldly.
"She just got sick. There was nothing more to it. Some people just get sick, Xai...do you mind if I call you Xai?"
"Yes."
"Oh..." The smile fell into a confused frown. This wasn't getting him anywhere. "Well, alright, Xaina it is, if you prefer."
"I do."
"Ok." The room was dark which he quickly picked up was probably not something she was use to. He glanced at several of the candles in the room and the lit. "There, a little light should make things better." In the light he could see the tears she still held back in her eyes. "What were you crying over?"
"Nothing."
"Liar." He walked over to the bed and sat next to her. He reached down to brush the tears that were now tracing down her cheeks away but she flinched back. "I'm not going to hurt you. I know Filia probably told you some horror stories about us monsters, many about me I'm sure, and even though most of them are true and not all that much exaggerated, you shouldn't let them scare you."
"She didn't tell me any, actually," Xaina replied. How she kept her voice from quivering or becoming weak, he wasn't sure.
"Oh...well then forget I said anything." There was a long pause again. Neither of them had any idea what to say. She was still to scared of him to say anything and he just didn't know what to do with children. Granted, he had been watching her all of her life, but that didn't mean that he really know all that much about her. He had only stopped by on occasion to asses her power, not get to know her. He racked his brain for something to say or do, but nothing came to mind.
Xaina just sat, looking at the garden. She had no interest in it; she just didn't want to see him. She didn't know why she didn't want to look at him, she just didn't. He kidnapped you, a voice in the back of her mind chided. You have every right to be angry with him. He had no right to take you. He had no right to try and buy you. She blindly reached down and grabbed Booie, hugging him close again.
Spotting the toy, Xellos got an idea. "Stay here. I'll be right back." He disappeared again. Xaina watched him go in half disbelief. Stay here? Where else was she going to go?
*****
Xellos reappeared and instantly regretted it as a mace came flying straight for him. He dodged as Filia screeched with anger. He could hear Val start crying again. He took a glance around, noting Filia on one side of Val's cradle, Val siting inside, with Lina and Gourry no where in sight.
"XELLOS!" the dragon roared. "Lina! Gourry!"
"Calm down, Filia. I just need to borrow a few things..."
Lina came charging in the room and dove for the monster. There was a bloodthirsty look in her eyes. It was the look that said she was not only going to kill him but she was going to do it in the slowest, worst possible way she could think of. He dodged again. It really wasn't all that hard. A sword went through his gut. He spied over his shoulder at Gourry.
"Is this suppose to hurt?" the monster asked, pointing at the plain blade sticking in him. A look of disbelief, shock, and disappointment all in one came over the mercenary as he pulled the blade out. "You should know normal swords don't work on me."
"No, but I do!" Xellos turned to late as Lina pounced on him. She wrapped an arm around his neck in an attempt to strangle him.
"No, Lina use this!" Filia cried as she held out her mace.
Xellos growled in frustration. This wasn't going to get him anywhere. Taking a firm hold of Lina's arm that was around his neck (and thanking the Golden Lord for not making him need to breath), he teleported both of them out of the room. He reappeared on the roof and dropped Lina there. It would keep her occupied for a few minutes.
"Sorry, Lina, but you need to stay out of this for once," he commented before teleporting back inside. This time, however, he went into the shop room. He picked out a particularly nice vase and held it gently. "Oh Filia, Gourry," he called loudly. He put on his usual face as he heard them scrambling down the stairs.
"Drop it, namagomi!" Filia screeched.
"As you wish," he replied evilly.
"No!" Filia cried but it was too late. The beautiful vase shattered on the ground.
Seizing the moments distraction, the monster teleported back up to Val's room. "You don't mind if I borrow a few things, do you?" he asked the worn out little dragon. Val watched him but didn't start crying again, which the monster was very grateful for. Xellos looked around the room quickly, trying to find something that would work well and he could use...ah, those would do. He motioned to a little box filled with blocks of wood cut into various shapes and it came to him. That looked good too. He pointed to a little wooden house and several small people dolls. It came to him. One more... ...perfect! He pointed to the wooden tea set. This would do. "Tell Filia I'll return these later," he explained to the baby, then disappeared.
He teleported back to his room on Wolf Pack Island and set the toys down on the bed. His smile faded when he noticed she wasn't in sight. Now where has she gone? he wondered. The doors are locked... He looked in the armoire, but she wasn't there. Nothing was in there. Perhaps under the bed... He lifted the covers but saw nothing but darkness. Alright, where else... He was beginning to worry. He hadn't even had his orders for very long and he'd already messed something up. He didn't like this. He wasn't use to making mistakes. he rarely, if ever, made them.
"Alright, Xaina. This game isn't funny anymore," he stated. He paused, waiting for her to come out. Nothing moved. "I give up. You're a better hide and seek player... ... ... That's enough, Xaina! I don't wanna play right now!" There still was no movement. Getting slightly frustrated, he decided to check the doors. The one out to the hall was locked. The one to the garden was not. That was odd. "I'm sure I locked it..."
*****
Crickets were chirping. The fog was getting thicker. She was lost, even if she didn't want to admit it. "Just a little further," Xaina whispered to herself. She turned around a corner to the endless pathway made by the hedges. She faulted and collapsed on the ground, never losing hold of Booie. She wanted to scream. There was the same small maker she had made with a few stone pebbles. She just gone in a circle. "It's not fair!" she cried. "I wanna go back to Filia's!" She struck her fists in the grass a few times before burying her face in her hands.
Something fluttered near by. Xaina jerked her head up, scanning the darkness. She could barely see six feet in front of herself. Suddenly, something moved. There was a rustle of cloth, like a cape blowing in the wind...but there was no wind at all. Her violet eyes searched more frantically this time for the unseen watcher. There was another flutter, like wings of birds.
She jumped back as something white landed in front of her. It was a bird. It looked sort of like a raven, only white with violet eyes. It stared at her, as if trying to say something it couldn't. It made a shrill caw at her and hopped a little closer. Xaina was frozen on the spot. It cawed again and hopped in place. The girl held out an arm to it but it jumped out of her reach. It cawed more urgently this time. It hopped a little closer and then hopped back. It cawed once more.
"I don't speak bird," she informed it as she got up and dusted herself off. It cawed. "Yes, yes, I know. I heard you the first time." She walked over to it and kneeled down, hugging her knees. She held out one hand to it. "What? Are you a monster too?" It cawed and hopped back a few paces. She sprang up and walked a followed it. When she got close to it, the bird fluttered several feet away to where she could just barely see it through the fog. She trotted up to it, clutching Booie with one hand by one of the toy's legs that had been sewn up several times. The bird suddenly took into full flight. "Wait!" she cried out as she chased after it.
The girl ran around several of the hedges, following to bird along a twisted path. Where it was taking her, she didn't know. She was already lost, so she didn't care where it took her. She couldn't get any more lost then she already was. The half moon provided the only light in the maze of plants for her. It took her around a corner, then another, and another...Where are we going? she wondered. She ran around another turn where she had seen it disappear and stopped.
She was in a large clearing in the maze with an old gnarled tree in the middle. The branches had almost no leaves and looked like twisted fingers reaching for the sky. The roots stuck out of the ground as if the whole tree was getting ready to climb out of the ground. A slight gust rattled the branches and the whole tree creaked and moaned in protest. A lone figure leaned against the tree, a black silhouetted against the pale green hedges. Three birds loomed on a branch just above the being: one black, one blue, one gold, and all looking like ravens. The white bird had landed the staff the stranger was holding. Long strands of black hair blew in the small breeze. A long cape twisted around the stranger. Xaina could make out no features on the person. Her voice was gone. Her heart beat in her ears and her breath became short. The area felt like it had just dropped ten degrees. She could see her breath, even in the fog, which was thinner here. All four birds suddenly took
flight and the being walked behind the tree, the birds close behind, and disappeared. The wind died away.
After several moments of being rooted to the spot, Xaina finely remembered she could move. She took several hesitant steps toward the tree. She peered around behind it...nothing. She walked a full circle around it twice, hopping over the roots...nothing. The stranger was gone. Feeling exhausted, she found a sung spot between the roots and plopped down. She held Booie out and studied his face. The blue button eyes stared blankly back at her. "Hmm...don't think I'm asleep..." She clutched the toy close to her chest, and looked around the area. The fog was still there, the moon was still out, nothing seemed out of place. "I think I'm losing it, Booie. Maybe this is just all a bad dream. Maybe it'll go away." She hugged the stuffed animal and leaned against the tree, catching her breath a little. She was starting to feel tired now. She closed her eyes, relaxing a bit.
She opened her eyes a few minutes later. Her eyes widened in shock as she looked down on a small line of wooden dolls standing if a half circle in front of her. They were just the right size to grab in her hand, though she knew better then to reach for them. "What the...?" she breathed and leaned in a little closer to them for a better look. "How..." she trailed off as all the miniature figures took a step forward, closing the half circle a little. Xaina squeaked and tried to scoot back, but was trapped against the tree. They took another step closer, then another, another, and another. She squeaked again, closing her eye and desperately wishing she could pass right through the tree...she suddenly tumbled onto the ground. She looked up and realized she was on the other side of the tree. Now she was really confused.
"What? Don't you want to play?" a familiar voice teased. She looked up and saw Xellos hovering in the air, smiling with his eyes closed, as usual. She was beginning to get sick of that face.
"That's not funny!" she snapped.
"Really. I thought it was," he replied in good humor. He looked around the tree and the little dolls came stiffly walking around. "And I thought girls liked dolls."
Xaina picked herself off the ground and glared at him. "Well I don't. Never have. And how'd you make me go through the tree?"
"I didn't. You did." Noticing her baffled expression, he explained, "I told you the suppressors were wearing off. You'll be able to do more tricks like that in no time soon. I'll remove the rest of the spells tomorrow. You sure you don't want to play?" he asked pointing down at the dolls that had formed a straight line. "That is what I brought them here for. I have more toys back at the mansion...of course, if you're happy staying out here in the maze, then by all means..." he sighed as he started to leave.
"No!" Xaina cried. "I don't wanna stay! I'll never find my way out! And I don't wanna meet the creepy person with the birds!" She was almost in tears at this point.
A twinge of pity passed through Xellos. That was something new for him. He never felt pity for people. He floated down next to her and gathered her up in his arms. "What creepy person with the birds?" he asked, his voice full of concern, not just for the girl.
She looked up, trying to hold the tears in. "There was some weird guy with four birds who was here. One of his birds brought me here and then he disappeared."
"I see. Let's get back to the mansion." He picked up the wooden dolls and teleported them back to his room.
*****
"A person with birds?" Lord Beastmaster asked, one eyebrow raised.
"That's what she said. I didn't see anyone when I found her, but she seemed to be quite sure of what she had seen," Xellos replied.
"Could she be making it up?"
Xellos shook his head. "She isn't one to make things like that up. Never that I've seen, anyway.
Zelas took a puff from her cigarette. This didn't please her. "You know what this means."
"We have a spy," Xellos replied. She nodded. "And if he comes back?"
"Capture him. I want him alive if he shows up again."
"Understood."
"Good." She took another puff and made a ring with the smoke she blew out. When Xellos lingered, she turned back to him. "Is there something else."
"Yes," he stated dryly. "I thought that perhaps Xaina might feel a little more comfortable here if she had her own room to claim and leave her things in."
"Very well," she sighed. "Give her one of the guest rooms for now. If her stay here is made permanent, I'll arrange for it be her's."
Xellos bowed and left.
Xaina laid on her side in the bed for a long time thinking...Mostly she thought about her mother. "You're not like other children, Xaina baby," her mother use to say. "You are destined for greater things. I see it in the cards." Her mother was a fortune teller and healer...mother...oh how she missed her mother. She clutched Booie closer to her body. She had been so thin when she died...she had been so pale...everyone had cried. She had said the gods were kind to those who worshipped and did good things...she had said they only punished the bad...then why had she died. Xaina could never remember a time when her mother wasn't helping people. So why had she died? It didn't make sense. She felt a few tears swell in her eyes.
Nothing makes sense, the girl reminded herself. Lina said monsters don't have feelings...good feelings, anyway. They only do things that help themselves. Filia said the same thing. She looked at her hands. They didn't looked like a monster's hands. They looked human. Then again, Xellos and Zelas looked human and they weren't. She sat up, brushing some of the tears out of her eyes. Then she inspected the moisture on her hands. "If I'm a monster, then why would I be crying?" she pondered aloud. "Monsters don't cry. They have no reason to cry. They don't feel sadness."
"What makes you think that?"
Xaina started, catching her breath in her throat. She turned to see Xellos sitting in the chair by the glass doors, moonlight falling on his face. His usual smile was worn on his face. A sense of anger at being spied on replaced her fear. She folded her arms together, turned up her nose, and closed her eyes bitterly. "You shouldn't ease drop."
"You look just like your mother when you do that," he happily said. The statement caught her off guard, and she looked over at him, confused.
"And what would you know about her?"
"You didn't think I didn't watch you and her, now did you?" She was silent. She refused to look at him. Instead she focused her attention to the garden outside. "I didn't make her sick, if that's what you think..."
"I wasn't," she stated coldly.
"She just got sick. There was nothing more to it. Some people just get sick, Xai...do you mind if I call you Xai?"
"Yes."
"Oh..." The smile fell into a confused frown. This wasn't getting him anywhere. "Well, alright, Xaina it is, if you prefer."
"I do."
"Ok." The room was dark which he quickly picked up was probably not something she was use to. He glanced at several of the candles in the room and the lit. "There, a little light should make things better." In the light he could see the tears she still held back in her eyes. "What were you crying over?"
"Nothing."
"Liar." He walked over to the bed and sat next to her. He reached down to brush the tears that were now tracing down her cheeks away but she flinched back. "I'm not going to hurt you. I know Filia probably told you some horror stories about us monsters, many about me I'm sure, and even though most of them are true and not all that much exaggerated, you shouldn't let them scare you."
"She didn't tell me any, actually," Xaina replied. How she kept her voice from quivering or becoming weak, he wasn't sure.
"Oh...well then forget I said anything." There was a long pause again. Neither of them had any idea what to say. She was still to scared of him to say anything and he just didn't know what to do with children. Granted, he had been watching her all of her life, but that didn't mean that he really know all that much about her. He had only stopped by on occasion to asses her power, not get to know her. He racked his brain for something to say or do, but nothing came to mind.
Xaina just sat, looking at the garden. She had no interest in it; she just didn't want to see him. She didn't know why she didn't want to look at him, she just didn't. He kidnapped you, a voice in the back of her mind chided. You have every right to be angry with him. He had no right to take you. He had no right to try and buy you. She blindly reached down and grabbed Booie, hugging him close again.
Spotting the toy, Xellos got an idea. "Stay here. I'll be right back." He disappeared again. Xaina watched him go in half disbelief. Stay here? Where else was she going to go?
*****
Xellos reappeared and instantly regretted it as a mace came flying straight for him. He dodged as Filia screeched with anger. He could hear Val start crying again. He took a glance around, noting Filia on one side of Val's cradle, Val siting inside, with Lina and Gourry no where in sight.
"XELLOS!" the dragon roared. "Lina! Gourry!"
"Calm down, Filia. I just need to borrow a few things..."
Lina came charging in the room and dove for the monster. There was a bloodthirsty look in her eyes. It was the look that said she was not only going to kill him but she was going to do it in the slowest, worst possible way she could think of. He dodged again. It really wasn't all that hard. A sword went through his gut. He spied over his shoulder at Gourry.
"Is this suppose to hurt?" the monster asked, pointing at the plain blade sticking in him. A look of disbelief, shock, and disappointment all in one came over the mercenary as he pulled the blade out. "You should know normal swords don't work on me."
"No, but I do!" Xellos turned to late as Lina pounced on him. She wrapped an arm around his neck in an attempt to strangle him.
"No, Lina use this!" Filia cried as she held out her mace.
Xellos growled in frustration. This wasn't going to get him anywhere. Taking a firm hold of Lina's arm that was around his neck (and thanking the Golden Lord for not making him need to breath), he teleported both of them out of the room. He reappeared on the roof and dropped Lina there. It would keep her occupied for a few minutes.
"Sorry, Lina, but you need to stay out of this for once," he commented before teleporting back inside. This time, however, he went into the shop room. He picked out a particularly nice vase and held it gently. "Oh Filia, Gourry," he called loudly. He put on his usual face as he heard them scrambling down the stairs.
"Drop it, namagomi!" Filia screeched.
"As you wish," he replied evilly.
"No!" Filia cried but it was too late. The beautiful vase shattered on the ground.
Seizing the moments distraction, the monster teleported back up to Val's room. "You don't mind if I borrow a few things, do you?" he asked the worn out little dragon. Val watched him but didn't start crying again, which the monster was very grateful for. Xellos looked around the room quickly, trying to find something that would work well and he could use...ah, those would do. He motioned to a little box filled with blocks of wood cut into various shapes and it came to him. That looked good too. He pointed to a little wooden house and several small people dolls. It came to him. One more... ...perfect! He pointed to the wooden tea set. This would do. "Tell Filia I'll return these later," he explained to the baby, then disappeared.
He teleported back to his room on Wolf Pack Island and set the toys down on the bed. His smile faded when he noticed she wasn't in sight. Now where has she gone? he wondered. The doors are locked... He looked in the armoire, but she wasn't there. Nothing was in there. Perhaps under the bed... He lifted the covers but saw nothing but darkness. Alright, where else... He was beginning to worry. He hadn't even had his orders for very long and he'd already messed something up. He didn't like this. He wasn't use to making mistakes. he rarely, if ever, made them.
"Alright, Xaina. This game isn't funny anymore," he stated. He paused, waiting for her to come out. Nothing moved. "I give up. You're a better hide and seek player... ... ... That's enough, Xaina! I don't wanna play right now!" There still was no movement. Getting slightly frustrated, he decided to check the doors. The one out to the hall was locked. The one to the garden was not. That was odd. "I'm sure I locked it..."
*****
Crickets were chirping. The fog was getting thicker. She was lost, even if she didn't want to admit it. "Just a little further," Xaina whispered to herself. She turned around a corner to the endless pathway made by the hedges. She faulted and collapsed on the ground, never losing hold of Booie. She wanted to scream. There was the same small maker she had made with a few stone pebbles. She just gone in a circle. "It's not fair!" she cried. "I wanna go back to Filia's!" She struck her fists in the grass a few times before burying her face in her hands.
Something fluttered near by. Xaina jerked her head up, scanning the darkness. She could barely see six feet in front of herself. Suddenly, something moved. There was a rustle of cloth, like a cape blowing in the wind...but there was no wind at all. Her violet eyes searched more frantically this time for the unseen watcher. There was another flutter, like wings of birds.
She jumped back as something white landed in front of her. It was a bird. It looked sort of like a raven, only white with violet eyes. It stared at her, as if trying to say something it couldn't. It made a shrill caw at her and hopped a little closer. Xaina was frozen on the spot. It cawed again and hopped in place. The girl held out an arm to it but it jumped out of her reach. It cawed more urgently this time. It hopped a little closer and then hopped back. It cawed once more.
"I don't speak bird," she informed it as she got up and dusted herself off. It cawed. "Yes, yes, I know. I heard you the first time." She walked over to it and kneeled down, hugging her knees. She held out one hand to it. "What? Are you a monster too?" It cawed and hopped back a few paces. She sprang up and walked a followed it. When she got close to it, the bird fluttered several feet away to where she could just barely see it through the fog. She trotted up to it, clutching Booie with one hand by one of the toy's legs that had been sewn up several times. The bird suddenly took into full flight. "Wait!" she cried out as she chased after it.
The girl ran around several of the hedges, following to bird along a twisted path. Where it was taking her, she didn't know. She was already lost, so she didn't care where it took her. She couldn't get any more lost then she already was. The half moon provided the only light in the maze of plants for her. It took her around a corner, then another, and another...Where are we going? she wondered. She ran around another turn where she had seen it disappear and stopped.
She was in a large clearing in the maze with an old gnarled tree in the middle. The branches had almost no leaves and looked like twisted fingers reaching for the sky. The roots stuck out of the ground as if the whole tree was getting ready to climb out of the ground. A slight gust rattled the branches and the whole tree creaked and moaned in protest. A lone figure leaned against the tree, a black silhouetted against the pale green hedges. Three birds loomed on a branch just above the being: one black, one blue, one gold, and all looking like ravens. The white bird had landed the staff the stranger was holding. Long strands of black hair blew in the small breeze. A long cape twisted around the stranger. Xaina could make out no features on the person. Her voice was gone. Her heart beat in her ears and her breath became short. The area felt like it had just dropped ten degrees. She could see her breath, even in the fog, which was thinner here. All four birds suddenly took
flight and the being walked behind the tree, the birds close behind, and disappeared. The wind died away.
After several moments of being rooted to the spot, Xaina finely remembered she could move. She took several hesitant steps toward the tree. She peered around behind it...nothing. She walked a full circle around it twice, hopping over the roots...nothing. The stranger was gone. Feeling exhausted, she found a sung spot between the roots and plopped down. She held Booie out and studied his face. The blue button eyes stared blankly back at her. "Hmm...don't think I'm asleep..." She clutched the toy close to her chest, and looked around the area. The fog was still there, the moon was still out, nothing seemed out of place. "I think I'm losing it, Booie. Maybe this is just all a bad dream. Maybe it'll go away." She hugged the stuffed animal and leaned against the tree, catching her breath a little. She was starting to feel tired now. She closed her eyes, relaxing a bit.
She opened her eyes a few minutes later. Her eyes widened in shock as she looked down on a small line of wooden dolls standing if a half circle in front of her. They were just the right size to grab in her hand, though she knew better then to reach for them. "What the...?" she breathed and leaned in a little closer to them for a better look. "How..." she trailed off as all the miniature figures took a step forward, closing the half circle a little. Xaina squeaked and tried to scoot back, but was trapped against the tree. They took another step closer, then another, another, and another. She squeaked again, closing her eye and desperately wishing she could pass right through the tree...she suddenly tumbled onto the ground. She looked up and realized she was on the other side of the tree. Now she was really confused.
"What? Don't you want to play?" a familiar voice teased. She looked up and saw Xellos hovering in the air, smiling with his eyes closed, as usual. She was beginning to get sick of that face.
"That's not funny!" she snapped.
"Really. I thought it was," he replied in good humor. He looked around the tree and the little dolls came stiffly walking around. "And I thought girls liked dolls."
Xaina picked herself off the ground and glared at him. "Well I don't. Never have. And how'd you make me go through the tree?"
"I didn't. You did." Noticing her baffled expression, he explained, "I told you the suppressors were wearing off. You'll be able to do more tricks like that in no time soon. I'll remove the rest of the spells tomorrow. You sure you don't want to play?" he asked pointing down at the dolls that had formed a straight line. "That is what I brought them here for. I have more toys back at the mansion...of course, if you're happy staying out here in the maze, then by all means..." he sighed as he started to leave.
"No!" Xaina cried. "I don't wanna stay! I'll never find my way out! And I don't wanna meet the creepy person with the birds!" She was almost in tears at this point.
A twinge of pity passed through Xellos. That was something new for him. He never felt pity for people. He floated down next to her and gathered her up in his arms. "What creepy person with the birds?" he asked, his voice full of concern, not just for the girl.
She looked up, trying to hold the tears in. "There was some weird guy with four birds who was here. One of his birds brought me here and then he disappeared."
"I see. Let's get back to the mansion." He picked up the wooden dolls and teleported them back to his room.
*****
"A person with birds?" Lord Beastmaster asked, one eyebrow raised.
"That's what she said. I didn't see anyone when I found her, but she seemed to be quite sure of what she had seen," Xellos replied.
"Could she be making it up?"
Xellos shook his head. "She isn't one to make things like that up. Never that I've seen, anyway.
Zelas took a puff from her cigarette. This didn't please her. "You know what this means."
"We have a spy," Xellos replied. She nodded. "And if he comes back?"
"Capture him. I want him alive if he shows up again."
"Understood."
"Good." She took another puff and made a ring with the smoke she blew out. When Xellos lingered, she turned back to him. "Is there something else."
"Yes," he stated dryly. "I thought that perhaps Xaina might feel a little more comfortable here if she had her own room to claim and leave her things in."
"Very well," she sighed. "Give her one of the guest rooms for now. If her stay here is made permanent, I'll arrange for it be her's."
Xellos bowed and left.