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THE SLAVERS
Chapter Two -
We're all Friends Here in Tent City, Right?
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"All right! Now We can REALLY let loose!" Lina yelled.
Val grinned and stood back to back with Gourry.
While the Slayers were busy knocking off the opposition, Xelloss was transporting his prize back to his camp. What he really wanted was some time alone with the mysterious girl. She was not human…or dragon, Mazouku, or anything else he understood or could identify.
"Ah…sorry about the sudden change of plans, but you'll be much safer here," he said as he dropped the girl on her seat in her tent. "Now, I'd like to get to know you better. Oh, I won't hurt you. You can trust me!"
Holly shuddered and backed away from the strange man. She had been a slave, now she was free, and yet this man was her 'master'—that, she understood—but what had she been before? She had no idea, no memories from her past to reconstruct her 'self'. Instead, she was bursting with questions…starving for answers… and eager to learn everything about her forgotten world, beginning with know about her 'new' and current one.
"Cold?" Xelloss asked guessing at her inner turmoil and physical needs. "I can heat up those stones you used to warm your feet under the covers…like this!" He pointed his staff at the small pile of flattened rocks and a small white ball of power blasted out the tip and shot through the stones. They glowed red with heat, generating cozy warmth in no time. "There now. Relax. I'm not here to hurt you. Had I wanted to do that, I wouldn't have waited this long or gone to this much trouble, believe me. Would you like to ask me a question, my slave?"
She watched his face, trying to read it's hidden meaning. "You can fly without wings and disappear and use strong magic. You're eyes are different, slitted, like the green-haired boy's and the wire-haired man's. So, are you all…the same race? I can see no other differences."
He smiled, "Mostly the differences are philosophical, but to answer your question…no, we're all different. The boy, Val, is a dragon, in his human-looking form. Normally dragons and Mazouku are enemies, but he and I have a… complex history. Now the man, Zelgadiss, he's part Mazouku, part human-- a blended creation we call a chimera. It makes him a bit gloomy at times, since it wasn't a change he wanted. All the others helping you are humans, while the ones they were fighting back there were… my race, though less powerful. Ah…except for the Beastmen…they aren't important at all."
She nodded. "I have no memories of these different peoples."
"So, can you fly with those wings, if you had to?" he asked off-handedly.
"Not yet. The tear must heal completely. But I will try if you ask, master," the small girl acknowledged subserviently.
"No. I simply wanted to know. So tell me, what can you do?" he asked interested in his new prize.
"I…I don't know. I have no sword, so either one was taken or I'm no fighter. I do feel the need of one, as if I once had one here, at my side. I will serve you as you demand."
"I have few needs, and I can provide most everything for myself to meet them. I do not eat food or sleep as you do. I guess for now you'll just be a curiosity and an attractor for all kinds of curious Mazouku, giving Lina and her friends something to destroy. That's not good for my reputation."
He gave her an peculiar expression, more curious than anything else, then said, "I have the oddest feelings around you though…"
"Your aura is different."
"You can SENSE my aura? That's interesting. Different, really? How so?" He was intensely puzzled by the girl who was unlike any other.
"Yes. It's dark and darkens when you are excited. It intensified when you appeared around the other Maz-ou-ku. It flickers and pulses at times," she said cautiously.
"And now?"
"It fades when you are near me, m-master. Can I fetch you some water?" she struggled to her feet wanting to put more space between herself and the powerful demon.
"Stay put! What do you mean when you say 'it fades'? "
"I…I mean that it no longer is a part of you. It goes away. The stone-covered man has a weaker aura. It fades also…around me. But I don't know what that means or where the auras go." She was frightened and looked down at her hands. The intensity of his purple gaze was painful. "Forgive me, master, if I have said something wrong…"
Xelloss was at a loss. In all his 1000-odd years of life as a demon, he had not encountered such an enigma as this 'girl'. He needed to consult some books, ancient tomes locked in storage back at Wolfpack Island where he still maintained an office. He would not take her with him or leave her alone. He'd have to wait for Lina and company to return. He turned away and closed his eyes.
"No, not wrong, more…disturbing. That aura is part of me and my power. If it's not present when I am around you then it may be floating on the astral plain, unprotected and vulnerable. I don't feel particularly different, however, so I am inclined to think that it's simply compacted and is so infinitesimal that it's not detectable. In any case, it is highly unusual, young lady, my slave, for any creature to cause a Mazouku Lord to have…an aural response…and the chimera too, you say? Very odd…"
Lina and company returned, riding upon their slaver-horses or flying overhead, then rapidly falling and sinking down to camp.
"Nice to help out, your lordship!" Lina smirked. "Oh, and no, no problem with the demons…piece of cake. Most of them left when we said we were travelling with you! They were checking out the 'disturbance' just as we were. As it happened, one of them was mightly helpful and showed us where the astral 'rip' was. Nothing spectacular, but at least now we know that there's a possibility of getting Holly back to her own …place, whatever," Lina ranted in a long rant without stopping for a breath.
"I see. Well, before you take her any place, I have a small mystery to clear up, then I'll help you myself!" he smiled, winked, and teleported out of sight.
SHIMMER
Zelgadiss had seen Xelloss leave. He strolled over to Lina and Holly. "Did you give her the good news?"
Lina nodded, "Something's up though and Xelloss took off. He'll help us when he gets back."
"We don't need his help, Lina. We know where to go, and I doubt he has an inkling as to how to send her back though the portal…if a 'portal' it is," Zel noted brusquely.
"Did he tell you where he was going or anything?" Lina pounced on Holly.
"No. I cannot say…but…" she looked up at Zelgadiss, forgetting his name, "Sir, I can tell YOU something."
Zel raised an eyebrow in question, but said nothing.
It was Lina who snorted, "Oh, I get it. You can't tell on your 'master' but you can give us a hint, huh? Go on, what about Zelgadiss?" Lina prompted the girl a little more.
"You have an aura. It's a part of you."
Zel nodded, "So I've been told by Xelloss. I'm part demon. What about my aura?"
"It…fades away when you are near me. Like now."
"I see. What does that mean to me? Or, don't you know? Unless…Xelloss… his aura diminishes too, I bet! He must be researching that!" Zel deduced triumphantly.
Amelia, Gourry, and Val had been standing around listening. Amelia entered the discussion with the $64,000 question, "So, Mr. Zelgadiss? How do you feel around Holly? Do you feel any…change in your aura? Because if you do, Mr. Xelloss must also! That might give us another clue about your specialness, Holly!"
Zel had everyone's attention. How could he explain what he didn't understand. Holly made him feel…complete happy, healed, peaceful, human…that's it! "I feel human. All human. Those other parts of my make-up I notice around me all the time—like the acute hearing or the …rocks. Obviously, that's not something I like to talk about or even think about. However, especially when I use a spell, or move quickly…something that activates one of my non-human parts… those times I notice the…aura… the strength that the part gives me. I'm confusing you probably. It's not something I can put into words well."
"But THAT is what goes away around Holly here, right?" Lina asked. "All right! Now we're getting some place. If you feel that, then a high-level Mazouku Lord does too! Probably stronger than you do. That must be quite a power jolt!"
"There's more," Zel signaled for quiet again. "The feeling…it's growing stronger; that is, the aura is getting weaker, the more I'm with her. At first, I hardly noticed it, but this morning it was more pronounced, and NOW…it's distracting." He looked at Holly and a blush spread across his cheekbones. "Not bad…a calming feeling mostly. Actually, kinda nice. When I think about it… nice."
Gourry cleared his throat. Zel had his hand on Holly's arm and was standing very close to her. As if awakened from a trance, Zelgadiss released his hold and stepped back a yard or two. "Sorry…" he muttered and turned his head to the side to hide his blush of embarrassment.
"Whoa…" Lina whistled. "That's somethin', and you're just 1/3 low-life-scum-demon too!" Lina smirked in Zel's direction. "Xelloss must be nearly reeling around her, that or his extra power enables him to stay in control better…"
"I was in control…" squeaked in a tiny Zel voice that everyone ignored.
Val shook his head, "Well, I don't feel nothin' but hungry. Gourry? Show me how you and Lina caught all those fish and I'll help ya."
Gourry was happy to have something interesting to do. Fighting demons was okay, but listening to the others converse about magic stuff was out of his realm and dull as sawdust. "Oh, ah, sure…bring a basket and it'll be easier."
While Val was setting out the fishing gear, Gourry was lifting rotting tree limbs and rocks, uncovering insect larva for bait.
"So, you doin' okay?" Gourry asked the young dragon. It puzzled him how fast the dragon had grown from a hatchling to a kid his own age in a matter of months. However, Filia had assured him that it was natural, and that now he needed life experiences to mature. Of course, this could take many human lifetimes to complete, but that didn't matter to Gourry. He was concerned with the present.
"Huh? Me? Sure." The young dragon kid was fully the size of an adult male and looked very much as he had as the terrible Valgaav, but he was just a teenager with few real-life experiences.
"What do you do when you're alone?" Gourry asked artlessly. With him there was rarely a hidden agenda. The 'here and now' was complicated enough for big swordsman.
"Xelloss don't leave me alone. Like now, you're with me. He says I'm a target fer other of his kind and until I'm stronger, he has to be around to fend them off, I guess."
"And he's been okay to ya. He don't hurt you…" Gourry wondered. He really knew little about demons, only what he'd experienced, which usually led to him killing them. Xelloss was the exception to the rule.
"Hurt me? Nah, he can be strict and make me work hard, but he's never hit me or nothin'. He's told me 'bout his kind and how they live, but it don't make much sense to me," Val shook his head.
"Me neither!" chuckled the big swordsman. "All that talk about auras and all…I don't get it."
"Well, I kinda do," Val said, pleased to understand something more than at least one of the other adults. He stabbed a hook into some bait and threw his line into the water. "I'm supposed to 'feel' other dragons and demons too by their 'auras', but I don't all the time, 'specially dragons…there aren't none 'round much. Xelloss, well I get a tingle fer sure; he's so powerful. Even Lina does! Not Zelgadiss or other weak ones. And I get nothin' from that Holly girl either! 'Cept…she's kinda cute…"
Gourry tossed in his line, "Me too. Hell, even Zel gets THAT from her!" he laughed.
"What I wonder 'bout is what's buggin' Xelloss? He's more…a-gee-ta-ted than ever, and THAT'S weird."
"Hmmm, guess that's what Lina's gonna find out," Gourry mused. He was contented to let the magic users sort themselves out. When his sword was needed, he trusted them to let him know. Without thought, he placed his hand upon the familiar hilt at his side. His SWORD OF LIGHT—well, a copy of it anyway. It had been a gift from a Mazouku, Xelloss.
Val reeled in a fish and prepared bait for the next try. "Yeah, life is sweet for me though."
He smiled. His life, free from intended enslavement under the Lord Beastmaster Zelas, was a gift from a Mazouku, Xelloss. He could become bonded to Xelloss, should he choose, but not until he was more mature and trained and 'deemed worthy'. He knew Xelloss wanted him, but that he was afraid to destroy Val's current 'self', much as The Demon Dragon King Gaav had done to him in his past life, and create an unmanageable monster. He also wanted to meet some cute dragon girls… So, he waited, experienced, and learned. Maybe he'd remain as a he was— the last remaining member of the Ancient Dragon race and a friend to a Mazouku Lord.
Amelia took a seat on the log beside Zelgadiss, and appraised him hard. He shifted his glance to her, "Yes Amelia?"
"Well, Mr. Zelgadiss, I don't see or feel 'auras' but I see and feel other things," she said in a quiet voice.
He sighed. Oh dear… He had long come to accept that Amelia's crush on him had grown into something stronger. And, frankly, he would have acted on his own similar feelings, had he felt that he had the right. He didn't want to lead her on. He knew that she was duty-bound to return to Seyruun and take the throne someday, but that did not appeal to him. Not until his chimerical form was gone. Until he was 'cured'.
He no longer had to search for his cure. Around his neck was a vial on a cord, which he wore at all times. It contained his cure, gift from a Mazouku, Xelloss. He would be able to open it in one year—minus the last few months, if he wished. He was to 'live life' and 'think about it seriously' until that time. Maybe he needed no 'cure'.
"Amelia," he finally spoke. "I don't know what to tell you."
"Holly is a sweet and beautiful, eye-catching girl," Amelia intoned. "Anyone can see that. Gourry can't keep his eyes off of her either. I even noticed Val watching her out of the corner of his eye! It's not that, precisely…it's just that you so rarely reach out and touch anyone that…"
Zel looked away, "It's not what you think. When I touched her, I felt like a normal man. It was strange, as if I couldn't resist doing that, but not for any reason I'm sure you're thinking."
"Unless you've become a mind reader, Mr. Zelgadiss, you shouldn't try and guess what's in mine!" Amelia said harshly.
Zelgadiss swung his head toward her. Man, that was an arrogant thing for me to say! He berated himself silently. Aloud, he said, "I'm sorry, Amelia. That was a rather presumptuous thing for me to say, wasn't it?"
If she hadn't felt hurt before by his attitude, then that cold question made sure the injury was more painful. "All you need to add is 'Princess' to that question to make it sound as unapologetic as possible!" she cried out as she hopped to her feet and stomped away.
Grr…he makes me so mad sometimes. He didn't say he was in love with her, but he didn't deny the attraction either. Here I've waited so long for him and just when his stupid cure is in sight, he meets up with a lovely, enchanted girl alone in the world like himself, one who can sweep him off his feet! What good was being freed from the court marriage-laws for me, if he doesn't want me? Amelia found a secluded spot by the stream and sniffed.
She had been rescued from a too-early marriage as bound by Seyruun laws-- by a Mazouku. Xelloss arranged things so well as to re-unite Prince Phil and her with her long-lost sister, Gracia. Well, that was worth it all. It had been a gift from Xelloss. She was free to marry whom she wanted, when she wanted…but she wanted Zelgadiss and he wanted…what? And, more importantly, who?
Lina and Holly wandered around the camp to the stream. "Ooh, cool and nice on the toes," Lina smiled. "Feel free to clean up if you want. I'll keep the boys at bay!"
Holly smiled thankfully, "Just my face and hands, thank you."
She gazed at the sorceress a moment then looked away.
"What?" Lina asked, noticing the intent stare followed by the odd reaction. "And don't say 'nothing'."
"It's just…did you know that you too have an aura?" the girl asked.
Lina wasn't exactly sure. Xelloss had laid a forgetfulness spell over her memories of the recent past. Gourry told her that that powerful 'Shaby' spell she had used invoked 'HIM' and that a part of 'Shaby' was in her but was 'knocked out' by Xelloss in some way. Gourry couldn't clarify, and Amelia and Zel wouldn't, even if they could. Xelloss made it a 'secret', period. "I've had some strange experiences with the Mazouku and can control some powerful spells, so…an aura wouldn't be out of the question. I can tell when Xelloss is around, but that's about it. What is it you sense?"
"Like a sunset…golden, red, and dark. Complicated and mostly subdued or…leashed in. A terrible, immense power but suppressed in some way I don't understand."
Lina stared at the odd girl, then felt a wave of contentment and release wash over her. "There, I felt that! Did you do something to make me feel that way?"
"No…not purposefully. I noticed your aura fade like the others…"
"You mean like Zel's and Xelloss'? I know you won't tell on Xelloss, but we know what you mean, I know what you mean, now. So how about you? Does being around us affect you in anyway? Like mess with your aura or whatever?" Lina asked.
"I don't know what's happening. Dragons, Mazouku, Humans…It's all just…blankness!" Holly turned to Lina and clung to her in desperation. "I'm scared! What if I can't go back? What will happen to me here?"
"I don't know the answers, but I'll do everything possible to get you back to your…home. And if not…we'll deal with that problem when and if we get to it, all right? Now, forget that 'servant/master' crap. Zel and I freed you and Xelloss has no right to your life," Lina said with venom. She was her own boss and felt everyone else should have that choice to make to control their own destiny.
Just then, Gourry's voice was heard from the center of camp, "LUNCH!"
"On it!" answered Lina with a yelp and together the two girls scrambled along the rocks back to camp.
Seeing Amelia in the distance, Lina slowed to allow her to catch up to them. Tears dried and face washed, the tell-tale signs of sadness were gone. "Did I hear someone say 'lunch'?"
"Okay, Gourry, it all comes down to you now," Lina said between bites of fish.
"It does?" he managed, stuffing two fish into his mouth, heads and all.
"Yeah, tell us everything you know or have ever heard about fairies."
"Fairies? Oh, well…ah… not much to say…but lemme think… My grandma told us kids stories 'bout the elves an' fairies long ago. They were people like us I guess but smaller and magical and the fairies had wings like…butterflies all different colors. There were people too and they all got along pretty good, then one day the fairies all left. I dunno why, Lina, it was a mystery. But that was all stories fer little kids, not like the Dragon and Monster War stuff you talk about."
"There are often truths behind all folktales that get lost through the ages," Zelgadiss said as he joined the group for lunch. "I've discovered countless in my search for ones on chimeras, but none concerning fairies and demons. Where one set of tales ends, the other… begins…" his voice trailed off as an idea occurred to him.
"What is it, Zel?" Lina asked, recognizing his hesitancy to speak incomplete thoughts. "Give me somethin' to go on here!"
"Ohhhh…" Amelia caught on, "What if fairies were all transformed into Mazouku or were early stages of them? What could that mean for Holly?"
"Or maybe the Mazouku wiped them out when they appeared on the scene," Lina added.
"Or…" Zel whispered. "Or maybe they are not meant to exist together. Holly just 'appeared' out of some kind of astral rip, whatever that is. Her being here is only interfering with the astral parts of astral beings, as if to negate their uniqueness. Holly, can you fly yet?"
"Fly? I haven't tried since the wounds looks so bad and I've been too weak. Just a moment…" she stepped away from the group and concentrated. A few minutes later she sagged, exhausted with the effort of what appeared to be simply standing. "It's no use. It's as if the muscles aren't reacting to my brain! That could mean I received damage to nerves there when I fell."
"Damage that White Magic cannot repair," Zel reminded everyone.
"I get where you're going with this," Lina said. "Mazouku auras and Holly's ability to fly, which may depend on something akin to auras…" she looked to Holly for confirmation, but the girl shook her head. She didn't know. "Maybe…" Lina continued, "…might wipe out one another so that…If you had a land of elves and fairies then introduced Mazouku, you would get…"
"Elves and humans!" Gourry exclaimed triumphantly.
"You forgot Dragons," Val added. "And SHE said she'd never heard of any of our kind."
"That's right. So, add Dragons into the mix and the Mazouku re-gain their auras, but the elves diminish and the fairies disappear, leaving humans, some magical, some not!" Amelia finished. "Although it's a very unjust situation for the fairies."
"So how did I get here? Where am I from?" Holly asked mystified by their conclusions about people and races her faulty memory was unable to place.
"That's right," answered Zel with a slight smile. "All this talk isn't getting you back to your home any faster, is it? I say we take her back to that rift, and see if there's a way to pass her back through and seal it. Whatever the story, it's clear that she doesn't belong here."
"But Mr., ah…Lord Xelloss said to wait for his return. I wouldn't want to cross him right now!" Amelia warned wisely.
"Fine," sighed Zelgadiss, though meaning the opposite.
"I don't mind resting a bit of the day, now that it's more comfortable out. And it was so cold earlier on!" said Lina through a yawn. "And… his idea of time is pretty weird, so if he's not here in a few hours, we'll go without him."
So they napped, sharpened blades, washed out clothes in the river, picked berries, and passed the dreary, chill afternoon uneventfully. But, as the sun skimmed low over the horizon and then dipped below, the shadows grew longer-- Xelloss arrived.
SHIMMER!
Even the non-magic users looked up, alerted to a wave of despair and wash of panic.
"Blast you anyway, Xelloss! Shut down your energy aura, for gods'sakes!" Lina yelled at the smallish figure surrounded by an enormous black aura.
His defenses/offenses lowered a tad, either on purpose or due to the influence of the mysterious girl. Riveting his gaze in her direction, he located Holly's position, teleported to her side, swept her up, and disappeared with the barest of a SHIMMER! .
"HOLLY!" the others shouted.
But she was gone. Then just as suddenly with a SHIMMER they were back, Xelloss leaning on his staff exhausted.
"Well, I know better than to try that again," he gasped. His aura was gone, along with his ability to teleport through the astral plain.
"Xelloss!" Lina shouted, catching up Holly to steady her a bit. "You are in BIG trouble!
"Oh, my…yes, you could say that," he smiled weakly. "Holly, my dear, you pose a problem for me. By simply being where you have no right or desire to be, you threaten to destroy the delicate balance the Gods and Mazouku maintain in this world. Although my duty entails creating a little chaos now and then, Dynast and Deep Sea Dolphin are determined that I remove the danger. Now, I'm not comfortable with this, but I have no choice but to destroy you, while I still can…"
"The HELL you will!" Lina screamed. "We are taking her back to that portal thingy, shoving her in, and closin' it up. You can ponder your ultimate fate here, but don't you try stopping us or harmin' her!" Lina looked particularly evil. "AND I believe I can call on some power to back me up if I have to…"
Xelloss hid his eyes as he composed himself a moment. Could she feel the power of Shabrinigdo bottled up inside her? He didn't think so. He had masked it with powerful spells. Nevertheless, it was a risk he was not prepared to take needlessly. "Very well. We shall try your way, but if it doesn't work…"
"Then I try somethin' else!" Lina snorted. "Come on, we've wasted enough time here. Let's GO!"
THE SLAVERS -- end chapter 2.