Disclaimer: For those that were wondering, no I don't own slayers. Or any
of Tolkien's work for that matter. Don't ask. Just read.
A Soul Render. Zelgadis's cure was almost within his grasp.
Zelgadis smiled. "If you gentlemen would be so kind as to give me that box, I might be willing to let you walk out of here alive." He twirled his sword above his head to emphasize his point.
"He hurt Balin." The large man hefted his axe menacingly. "I'm gonna make him bleed." He looked to the man with the box for approval. Apparently he was the leader of the group.
The leader nodded. "Hold him off Bombur." He turned to the other two men. "Shall we go Nori? Dori?"
Zelgadis chuckled. "Let me guess. You're Thorin right?"
The leader looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Why would you assume that? I'm Richard." He turned to leave with the two mages following.
Zelgadis was about to charge after him when a huge axe came crashing down inches from his feet. He looked up. "Oh, that's right. You're still here, aren't you?" Zelgadis leapt up and brought the flat side of his sword down on the larger man's head. It made a hollow noise.
Bombur blinked and shook his head. He then pulled his axe free of the floor and raised it over his head growling.
Zelgadis sheathed his sword and crossed his arms. "Impressive. That blow would have killed a normal man."
Bombur roared as he brought the axe down again. Unfortunately, his target had moved. Zelgadis sidestepped the strike easily and walked forward until he was face to face with Bombur who was struggling to recover his axe.
Zelgadis sighed. "Sorry. I really don't have time to be playing around with you." He held his hand up and placed his palm on Bombur's forehead. "Fireball."
Outside, Richard, Nori, and Dori piled into the cart that they had secured for their getaway.
Richard considered for a moment. It had really been lucky that Bombur wasn't with them. There was no way that he could have fit in the cart. He looked back to the warehouse when he heard an explosion.
"Rest in pieces Bombur." He threw a mock salute in the direction of the building then turned back to the front of the cart where Nori and Dori were driving the horses. Sure there had been a couple of minor hiccups, but they had what they came for. He grinned as he glanced at the box sitting beside him.
Nori and Dori were looking at Richard with nervous expressions on their faces.
Richard put on his most charming smile. "Perk up boys! This means bigger shares of the reward for us you know."
That seemed to make them feel better and they returned to the job of getting the cart out of Zoana.
Richard sat back in his seat and relaxed. The hard part was over. He glanced over his shoulder and groaned. "Oh, you have got to be kidding."
Flying after the cart and rapidly gaining ground was an incredibly irate Zelgadis.
"Nori! Get your ass back here!" Richard pointed at the chimera pursuing them. "Take care of him quick!"
Nori nodded and leapt into the back of the cart. He began to form a fireball in his hand until Zelgadis grabbed his arm and flung him out the back of the cart. Nori landed headfirst on the cobblestones and laid still.
"Damn it!" Richard pulled his sword from under his seat and turned to face Zelgadis. The sorcerer-swordsman already had his blade out and was standing waiting for Richard.
Zelgadis grinned and beckoned Richard forward. He was going to enjoy this.
Richard moved to the back of the cart and took a few cautious swings at Zelgadis to test his defense.
Zelgadis blocked these easily, and swung hard, trying to remove Richard's head.
Richard smiled as he ducked the wild swing. He swung his sword across Zelgadis's midsection expecting to spill his guts across the back of the cart. He was shocked when his sword shattered on impact.
The cart raced on through the night. Another couple of minutes and they would be out of the city. Luckily, there weren't that many people on the streets at this late hour. By this point the cart was going dangerously fast.
Zelgadis tossed the remains of Richard's weapon over the side of the cart. He then grabbed the thief by the throat and dangled him over the edge of the cart. "Who hired you?" Zelgadis had to shout to be heard over the wind.
Richard managed to spit out a question of his own. "Why?"
Zelgadis considered for a moment. "Call it curiosity. If you don't tell me. . ." Zelgadis dangled Richard farther off the edge of the cart.
"Alright! We were hired by the Seyruun Crown Princ. . ."
Before Richard could finish his statement, his head struck a sign hanging from the door of a tavern and he was jerked out of Zelgadis's hand.
Zelgadis just looked at his hand for a moment dumbfounded. "Oh." He looked behind the cart, but Richard had already been swallowed by the night. "Seyruun huh?" He leaned down to shout in a terrified Dori's ear. "You don't mind if I take this do you?" Zelgadis tapped the box containing the Soul Render.
Dori shook his head emphatically. "Be my guest."
"Thanks." Zelgadis picked up the box and carefully put it in his cloak. He looked at Dori who was staring at him with a terrified expression on his face. He grinned. "A word of advice my friend."
Dori looked at him. "What?"
Zelgadis pointed ahead of the cart. "Watch where you're going. Ray wing!" The spell carried him upward and he quickly disappeared into the night.
Dori looked forward just in time to see the city gate barring his path. He didn't see it in time to stop though.
"Lina, where are you?"
Lina sat up and shook her head. She looked around to see the familiar surroundings of the house that she and Gourry had shared for so many years. Golden sunlight fell through the window. It was a beautiful day outside. She was sitting at the table. Had she fallen asleep?
While she was trying to figure out where she was, Gourry walked into the house.
"Are you in here Lina?" Gourry looked around apparently not seeing Lina sitting at the table. He shrugged. "Where'd she run off to? She was here a minute ago."
"Gourry! I'm right here you jellyfish!" Lina waved at Gourry but he was totally oblivious to her presence. She sighed and stood up. Gourry could be so dense sometimes. "Look you idiot! I'm right here!" She tried to hit him on the head, but her hand passed through him like he wasn't there. "What the hell?"
The light coming in the windows was growing steadily brighter.
Gourry shrugged and turned to leave the house. "She must have gotten lost. Honestly, she can't do anything without me." He opened the door to leave and the light flooded in.
The light was the color of purest gold and was so bright by this point that Lina had to squint to see. Gourry was no longer in the house. Neither was she. She was floating in a golden void. A voice called out to her as if someone were looking for her.
"Mom, are you okay?" Emily shook Lina.
Lina rolled around on her bedroll moaning in fear. Suddenly, she sat up and looked around with a terrified expression. Seeing Emily, Lina instinctively latched onto her waist. She whispered, "Don't let her take me."
"You were talking in your sleep again. Did you have another bad dream?" Emily stroked her mother's hair trying to calm her down.
From time to time, Lina would have terrible nightmares that she could never remember upon awakening. All she could ever recall was the golden light. These dreams had been occurring as long as Emily could remember.
Lina looked around again. The dream was fading from her memory and the inside of the tent appeared safe enough. She relaxed her grip on Emily and cautiously sat up. She was soaked with sweat. "What was I saying?"
"Was something chasing you? You said 'don't let her take me."
Lina released a shaky breath. Why were the dreams coming back now? She hadn't had one since before Emily had left home. Maybe it was because of all the stress that she had been under lately. Between having Emily return, the tragedy at Cruso, and Gourry it was a wonder that she was even able to think straight.
Emily looked at her mother with a concerned expression. "Are you okay now mom?"
Lina nodded and hugged her daughter. "Thanks for coming with me. I don't know how I could do this on my own."
Emily returned her mother's hug for a moment before standing up. "I think I'd better go check on the kids. You were making a lot of noise while you were asleep."
After Emily left the tent, Lina was alone with her thoughts again. She frowned. Who had been looking for her? Why? There was no way she was going to be able to get back to sleep.
Moments later, Emily reentered the tent to see a snoring Lina.
"I don't get it. Why won't the damn thing work?" Zelgadis held the Soul Render up to inspect it again. Maybe he had missed something. He looked into the semi-transparent stone. Nothing but green waves moving about.
Suddenly, something else appeared in the stone. Zelgadis squinted. What was it? The shape grew larger. A face? It looked familiar. He brought the stone closer to his face. "What the hell?", he muttered.
"Congratulations Zelgadis!"
Zelgadis almost dropped the Soul Render. Looking across the table, he saw an amused Xellos looking at him through the stone.
"Damn it Xellos!" Zelgadis brought his fist down on the table smashing it. He sighed. The innkeeper wouldn't like that.
Xellos smiled at Zelgadis. "So, it looks like you have a quarter of the Soul Render. Good for you!"
Zelgadis stared. "A quarter?"
"Oh, didn't I mention that? The artifact you have there is only a fragment of the mysterious and powerful Soul Render. A thousand years ago a powerful sorcerer took it upon himself to shatter the artifact and scatter the fragments across the land." He shrugged. "I can't imagine why."
Zelgadis sighed. "Why do sorcerers insist on breaking artifacts into multiple parts? So where's the rest of it?"
Xellos held up a finger and opened one eye. "That is. . ."
Zelgadis was about to draw his sword when Xellos finished his statement.
". . .in Seyruun." He noted Zelgadis's surprised expression and laughed. "What? Were you expecting something else?"
"Uh, no. Thanks for your help." Zelgadis got up and left the room.
Xellos watched Zelgadis leave with a serious expression on his face. "Curious. That was definitely a Soul Render fragment." He reached into his satchel and pulled out the purple stone that he carried. "This one is as well. Hmm." He inspected the stone for a moment longer before he shrugged and put it away. Seconds later he was gone.
Next Chapter: Xellos's plan is going quicker than expected. So why is he upset? Lina and Emily are a day away from Seyruun. Some other familiar faces are as well. What will happen when they meet?
Notes: Okay. This is probably the last chapter that I am going to do for the story. . .
This week. What did you think I was going to say? Because I do most of my uploading at work you probably won't be seeing another chapter until Monday. So, pace yourselves gentle readers. This has to last all weekend.
I kind of have mixed feelings about this chapter. It's probably been rewritten more than most. I think the action was pretty good. I have reservations about some of the other content though. I don't know if I'm giving away too much regarding a certain character. Argh.
To my last two reviewers, awril and zed, I appreciate the fact that you are reading, but I'm curious. When you ask for more, is it because you are awed by the masterful story telling and gripping plot? Or are you trying to find your pain threshold by reading this nightmare of a fic? Give me something to work with here.
You know the drill by now. As always please read and review. I thrive on criticism.
A Soul Render. Zelgadis's cure was almost within his grasp.
Zelgadis smiled. "If you gentlemen would be so kind as to give me that box, I might be willing to let you walk out of here alive." He twirled his sword above his head to emphasize his point.
"He hurt Balin." The large man hefted his axe menacingly. "I'm gonna make him bleed." He looked to the man with the box for approval. Apparently he was the leader of the group.
The leader nodded. "Hold him off Bombur." He turned to the other two men. "Shall we go Nori? Dori?"
Zelgadis chuckled. "Let me guess. You're Thorin right?"
The leader looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Why would you assume that? I'm Richard." He turned to leave with the two mages following.
Zelgadis was about to charge after him when a huge axe came crashing down inches from his feet. He looked up. "Oh, that's right. You're still here, aren't you?" Zelgadis leapt up and brought the flat side of his sword down on the larger man's head. It made a hollow noise.
Bombur blinked and shook his head. He then pulled his axe free of the floor and raised it over his head growling.
Zelgadis sheathed his sword and crossed his arms. "Impressive. That blow would have killed a normal man."
Bombur roared as he brought the axe down again. Unfortunately, his target had moved. Zelgadis sidestepped the strike easily and walked forward until he was face to face with Bombur who was struggling to recover his axe.
Zelgadis sighed. "Sorry. I really don't have time to be playing around with you." He held his hand up and placed his palm on Bombur's forehead. "Fireball."
Outside, Richard, Nori, and Dori piled into the cart that they had secured for their getaway.
Richard considered for a moment. It had really been lucky that Bombur wasn't with them. There was no way that he could have fit in the cart. He looked back to the warehouse when he heard an explosion.
"Rest in pieces Bombur." He threw a mock salute in the direction of the building then turned back to the front of the cart where Nori and Dori were driving the horses. Sure there had been a couple of minor hiccups, but they had what they came for. He grinned as he glanced at the box sitting beside him.
Nori and Dori were looking at Richard with nervous expressions on their faces.
Richard put on his most charming smile. "Perk up boys! This means bigger shares of the reward for us you know."
That seemed to make them feel better and they returned to the job of getting the cart out of Zoana.
Richard sat back in his seat and relaxed. The hard part was over. He glanced over his shoulder and groaned. "Oh, you have got to be kidding."
Flying after the cart and rapidly gaining ground was an incredibly irate Zelgadis.
"Nori! Get your ass back here!" Richard pointed at the chimera pursuing them. "Take care of him quick!"
Nori nodded and leapt into the back of the cart. He began to form a fireball in his hand until Zelgadis grabbed his arm and flung him out the back of the cart. Nori landed headfirst on the cobblestones and laid still.
"Damn it!" Richard pulled his sword from under his seat and turned to face Zelgadis. The sorcerer-swordsman already had his blade out and was standing waiting for Richard.
Zelgadis grinned and beckoned Richard forward. He was going to enjoy this.
Richard moved to the back of the cart and took a few cautious swings at Zelgadis to test his defense.
Zelgadis blocked these easily, and swung hard, trying to remove Richard's head.
Richard smiled as he ducked the wild swing. He swung his sword across Zelgadis's midsection expecting to spill his guts across the back of the cart. He was shocked when his sword shattered on impact.
The cart raced on through the night. Another couple of minutes and they would be out of the city. Luckily, there weren't that many people on the streets at this late hour. By this point the cart was going dangerously fast.
Zelgadis tossed the remains of Richard's weapon over the side of the cart. He then grabbed the thief by the throat and dangled him over the edge of the cart. "Who hired you?" Zelgadis had to shout to be heard over the wind.
Richard managed to spit out a question of his own. "Why?"
Zelgadis considered for a moment. "Call it curiosity. If you don't tell me. . ." Zelgadis dangled Richard farther off the edge of the cart.
"Alright! We were hired by the Seyruun Crown Princ. . ."
Before Richard could finish his statement, his head struck a sign hanging from the door of a tavern and he was jerked out of Zelgadis's hand.
Zelgadis just looked at his hand for a moment dumbfounded. "Oh." He looked behind the cart, but Richard had already been swallowed by the night. "Seyruun huh?" He leaned down to shout in a terrified Dori's ear. "You don't mind if I take this do you?" Zelgadis tapped the box containing the Soul Render.
Dori shook his head emphatically. "Be my guest."
"Thanks." Zelgadis picked up the box and carefully put it in his cloak. He looked at Dori who was staring at him with a terrified expression on his face. He grinned. "A word of advice my friend."
Dori looked at him. "What?"
Zelgadis pointed ahead of the cart. "Watch where you're going. Ray wing!" The spell carried him upward and he quickly disappeared into the night.
Dori looked forward just in time to see the city gate barring his path. He didn't see it in time to stop though.
"Lina, where are you?"
Lina sat up and shook her head. She looked around to see the familiar surroundings of the house that she and Gourry had shared for so many years. Golden sunlight fell through the window. It was a beautiful day outside. She was sitting at the table. Had she fallen asleep?
While she was trying to figure out where she was, Gourry walked into the house.
"Are you in here Lina?" Gourry looked around apparently not seeing Lina sitting at the table. He shrugged. "Where'd she run off to? She was here a minute ago."
"Gourry! I'm right here you jellyfish!" Lina waved at Gourry but he was totally oblivious to her presence. She sighed and stood up. Gourry could be so dense sometimes. "Look you idiot! I'm right here!" She tried to hit him on the head, but her hand passed through him like he wasn't there. "What the hell?"
The light coming in the windows was growing steadily brighter.
Gourry shrugged and turned to leave the house. "She must have gotten lost. Honestly, she can't do anything without me." He opened the door to leave and the light flooded in.
The light was the color of purest gold and was so bright by this point that Lina had to squint to see. Gourry was no longer in the house. Neither was she. She was floating in a golden void. A voice called out to her as if someone were looking for her.
"Mom, are you okay?" Emily shook Lina.
Lina rolled around on her bedroll moaning in fear. Suddenly, she sat up and looked around with a terrified expression. Seeing Emily, Lina instinctively latched onto her waist. She whispered, "Don't let her take me."
"You were talking in your sleep again. Did you have another bad dream?" Emily stroked her mother's hair trying to calm her down.
From time to time, Lina would have terrible nightmares that she could never remember upon awakening. All she could ever recall was the golden light. These dreams had been occurring as long as Emily could remember.
Lina looked around again. The dream was fading from her memory and the inside of the tent appeared safe enough. She relaxed her grip on Emily and cautiously sat up. She was soaked with sweat. "What was I saying?"
"Was something chasing you? You said 'don't let her take me."
Lina released a shaky breath. Why were the dreams coming back now? She hadn't had one since before Emily had left home. Maybe it was because of all the stress that she had been under lately. Between having Emily return, the tragedy at Cruso, and Gourry it was a wonder that she was even able to think straight.
Emily looked at her mother with a concerned expression. "Are you okay now mom?"
Lina nodded and hugged her daughter. "Thanks for coming with me. I don't know how I could do this on my own."
Emily returned her mother's hug for a moment before standing up. "I think I'd better go check on the kids. You were making a lot of noise while you were asleep."
After Emily left the tent, Lina was alone with her thoughts again. She frowned. Who had been looking for her? Why? There was no way she was going to be able to get back to sleep.
Moments later, Emily reentered the tent to see a snoring Lina.
"I don't get it. Why won't the damn thing work?" Zelgadis held the Soul Render up to inspect it again. Maybe he had missed something. He looked into the semi-transparent stone. Nothing but green waves moving about.
Suddenly, something else appeared in the stone. Zelgadis squinted. What was it? The shape grew larger. A face? It looked familiar. He brought the stone closer to his face. "What the hell?", he muttered.
"Congratulations Zelgadis!"
Zelgadis almost dropped the Soul Render. Looking across the table, he saw an amused Xellos looking at him through the stone.
"Damn it Xellos!" Zelgadis brought his fist down on the table smashing it. He sighed. The innkeeper wouldn't like that.
Xellos smiled at Zelgadis. "So, it looks like you have a quarter of the Soul Render. Good for you!"
Zelgadis stared. "A quarter?"
"Oh, didn't I mention that? The artifact you have there is only a fragment of the mysterious and powerful Soul Render. A thousand years ago a powerful sorcerer took it upon himself to shatter the artifact and scatter the fragments across the land." He shrugged. "I can't imagine why."
Zelgadis sighed. "Why do sorcerers insist on breaking artifacts into multiple parts? So where's the rest of it?"
Xellos held up a finger and opened one eye. "That is. . ."
Zelgadis was about to draw his sword when Xellos finished his statement.
". . .in Seyruun." He noted Zelgadis's surprised expression and laughed. "What? Were you expecting something else?"
"Uh, no. Thanks for your help." Zelgadis got up and left the room.
Xellos watched Zelgadis leave with a serious expression on his face. "Curious. That was definitely a Soul Render fragment." He reached into his satchel and pulled out the purple stone that he carried. "This one is as well. Hmm." He inspected the stone for a moment longer before he shrugged and put it away. Seconds later he was gone.
Next Chapter: Xellos's plan is going quicker than expected. So why is he upset? Lina and Emily are a day away from Seyruun. Some other familiar faces are as well. What will happen when they meet?
Notes: Okay. This is probably the last chapter that I am going to do for the story. . .
This week. What did you think I was going to say? Because I do most of my uploading at work you probably won't be seeing another chapter until Monday. So, pace yourselves gentle readers. This has to last all weekend.
I kind of have mixed feelings about this chapter. It's probably been rewritten more than most. I think the action was pretty good. I have reservations about some of the other content though. I don't know if I'm giving away too much regarding a certain character. Argh.
To my last two reviewers, awril and zed, I appreciate the fact that you are reading, but I'm curious. When you ask for more, is it because you are awed by the masterful story telling and gripping plot? Or are you trying to find your pain threshold by reading this nightmare of a fic? Give me something to work with here.
You know the drill by now. As always please read and review. I thrive on criticism.
