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ZELGADISS TORN

___________________ Part 8 _________________

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The look of shock in his eyes and the realization of how forward she just had been, unseemly for a princess, suddenly occurred to her. She curbed her desire to kiss him again, held the rest of her emotions in check, and backed off.

"Wow, indeed…" Zel gasped. Then he averted his eyes with a blush, pretending to be interested in his craftsmanship at the wheel. He felt the need to say something, but he didn't know what. So, as usual, he left an unsatisfying awkward pause as his response.

Intruding with an uncanny sense of timing, Greyzel traipsed into the workroom, little Val in tow, and effectively dissipated the tense, albeit romantic, moment. By Zel's instructions, he was in charge of babysitting, relieving Filia of at least that duty. Gravos and Jillas clerked the store. It appeared that the demon and the dragon child had found some common ground, or drawn a truce. The last time Zel had checked, Val and Greyzel were building a fort in the back yard. Out of what, Zel knew not or cared not as long as they were not causing a disturbance.

"Hello," Zel smiled, not bothering to look up from his rapidly forming vase. His delicate fingers had a sure touch for modeling clay, and a spot of shaman magic here and there made it remarkably responsive in his hands. "Time to eat?"

"Yep!" Val answered. "The mad lady said to come and get it, or get it!"

"Misss Leeena," Greyzel corrected him. "She has the power of the great massster. Be ressspectful."

Zel raised an eyebrow. "So he can detect that bit of Shabrinigdo Xelloss hid in Lina? I wonder how…" Zel thought to himself. Then he remembered-- Greyzel could tap into his memories, their shared memories. How dangerous! To Greyzel, he mentally signaled a stern warning not to reveal that information EVER to ANYONE.

Greyzel nodded and gave a curt bow, then straightened abruptly and hissed, "He'ssssss here!"

"Who?" Amelia asked more harshly than necessary, but she was a bit perturbed with the demon. When would she get another chance to be alone with Zelgadiss again? That Greyzel seemed to know when she and Zelgadiss were having one of their rare intimate moments with precision! It was as if they still shared the same body!

"Maassster," Greyzel answered, trembling with excitement, (or was it fear?) as the air in front of them shimmered with the solidification of a form from the astral plain.

"Grr…" Zel growled, predictably, and automatically reached for his non-existent sword.

"Mr. Zelgadiss and Princess Amelia… Greyzel," Xelloss smiled to each person in turn, then added as he dusted off a bench seat with his gloves, "My, my… Zelgadiss, don't bother getting up on my account."

Zel had jumped up to draw his sword, but noticed that he wasn't even wearing one and in addition, his hands were caked in clay up to his elbows. "Xelloss…"

"Bingo! You remembered my name…and on the first try!" Xelloss said with a smirk, which suddenly switched to frown. "Since your memory is intact, perhaps you can tell me about a little matter about which you forgot to inform me of before?" Xelloss honed in on the young man, his manner threatening.

Putting himself between Zel and Amelia, Xelloss said in a low voice meant only for Zel's ears, "I want to make this very clear to you, human… You and I had a deal. I have kept my part of the bargain, perfectly, you'll agree, no?"

Zelgadiss felt fearful, unarmed and unprotected from the ominous power of this Mazouku Lord. Wisely, he nodded, "Yes, you did."

"Then, you agree that it's your turn to live up to your end of our bargain?"

Zelgadiss shook his head, "Xelloss, you lost me now. I have no idea what you mean. You wanted Greyzel and you have him. He's your vassal; he calls you Master."

"Don't try to out-trick me," Xelloss smiled, wiggling his finger under Zel's nose. "You have a hold over Greyzel, one which you must relinquish."

Bravely, Zelgadiss stood his ground, "If you are having problems controlling your minions, don't blame it on me. I had nothing to do with the separation spell, and most certainly no power to control it at the time. All I did was name him, then I walked away." He let his words sink in a moment, then since it appeared that Xelloss wasn't about to harm him, he added, "It was you who dumped him on us this past week!"

The two men locked eye to eye, measuring one another. "Do not double-cross me," Xelloss warned, then smiled benignly, "That's right! And how has the reunion been going? You've behaved well, I take it?" This last question he asked of Greyzel.

"Yesss, Masssster," Greyzel grinned in return.

Xelloss noticed the small green-haired boy gripping his servant's clawed hand. "Val Gaav…ah…its just Val now, correct?"

"Val, yesss. Little dragon boy. I have been watching him. Very good boy, clever and ssssmart," Greyzel's pride in his friendship shone through his words.

"A-And strong!" Val proudly shouted out, his courage building now that he could see the smiling man appeared harmless, despite his distasteful aura.

"You. Have. Been. The. Babysitter to… this dragon-boy?" Xelloss asked, the merriment evident in his eyes.

"Yesss. So otherss could work. We built a fort." Greyzel shaped his hands to demonstrate a peaked-roof structure.

"I carried the wood and everything. I'm gonna be bigger than all of you, even momma when I grow up!" Val was enthusiastic now. "Wanna se…Mr…? What's wrong with him?"

Xelloss was bent double with laughter, sputtering nonsense.

"Insanity. It runs in his family," Zel supplied.

Xelloss found his voice enough to say between giggles, "M-my General-to-be… is…is… a babysitter to a baby…ancient dragon…ho ho ho, he he he…"

Val shook his head incredulously. "You work for him, Mr. Greyzel?"

"Yess. He'sss veeerry powerful Mazouku Lord, my masssster is." Greyzel bowed slightly and asked, "Masster, have you come for me?"

Val looked in disbelief at Xelloss, a grown man who acted like a child. Xelloss wiped his eyes and, still racked by giggles, he attempted to straighten up, although still trembling a bit. "Oh, my… Ahhhh, well, I think you should keep an eye on them. Would you like that? Continue travelling with Zelgadiss and…heh, heh, Val here?"

"Yes, aasss you wissh, my lord."

"Now, Mr. Xelloss," Amelia intervened. "We have a very important commission of our own to complete. I think Greyzel has visited us long enough!"

Greyzel lacked Zelgadiss' intensity, drive, and attitude. He had had to submit to the human's will when he had shared bodies, and had not yet gained his own self-confidence or acknowledged his own self-worth. Zelgadiss although weaker in powers and more vulnerable to damage was very brave and strong willed. Xelloss hoped that more of Zelgadiss' influence, as well as Lina's, might help Greyzel. Examples…he needed situations to challenge him so that he might grow. That, plus this unexpected relationship he was forming with the little ancient dragon could be put to use someday in the future, Xelloss was certain.

"Ah, well…you see, Miss Amelia, I have a few things of my own to take care of. I won't be long. I'm sure you can understand how much time it takes to train a new servant."

"Well, yes, but what could possibly be more important than you doing just that, now…with him?!" she insisted.

Xelloss smiled and tilted his head to the side, "Now, princess…that's a secret!" And he shimmered back to the astral plain.

"Ooooh! Miss Lina's right! He is soooo frustrating when he does that!" Amelia huffed. "Mr. Zelgadiss?" She met his eyes with her own. "What did Mr. Xelloss mean? Why does he think you are holding out on him?"

Returning to his unfinished vase, Zelgadiss shook his head, "With him, you can never be sure." Deciding that the vase could remain 'as is', Zelgadiss left it and walked over to the washbasin to begin the laborious task of removing the layers of silty muck from his hands and arms.

Greyzel sidled up close to Amelia and whispered, "Mr. Zelgadissss and I can talk together."

"What?" Amelia jumped back from his sudden and unwanted intimacy. "Why, we can all talk to him. He's a very good listener!"

Zelgadiss heard the exchange and shot another mental warning to Greyzel, "The mind-link is our secret. Expose it and we lose it!"

"Come on, Greyzel" Val cried out. "I wanna go eat."

Greyzel nodded and transported the little dragon-boy and himself to the house.

"Ready?" Zelgadiss asked tossing down his towel. "That's as much of this clay as I can get off anymore. I think it's embedded permanently in the pores of my skin."

"Better clay than rock, don't you think?" Amelia asked, then covered her mouth. "Oh no! What if he took that as an insult?" she worried in silence.

But, Zelgadiss just chuckled slightly, "Since you put it that way, I guess I shouldn't complain."

.:.~*~.:.

Five days later, the company of Lina and Gourry, Amelia and Zelgadiss, Greyzel, Val, and Filia, penetrated deep into the wild territories stretching between the outermost lands of Seyruun and Atlas City. It was late in the afternoon, and well past a non-existent lunch, when they met their first roadblock. This, Lina did not need. She was hungry and hot, which made her short-tempered and surly.

"It will cost you plenty to pass into the Black Dragon Domains," the husky brute of a man informed her."

Lina raked him with her eyes. Mercenary dress, nothing special. She could take him out with simple fireball, no threat here. "Heh! It'll cost you more if you try and collect it!"

Tens of similarly sized and costumed gents jumped out of the trees overhead. Carefully constructed hideouts and living quarters were camouflaged perfectly. Lina et al had walked into a trap.

"Watch out!" shouted Filia from behind Lina. "They are Green dragons!"

Greyzel leaped up and backwards into an unoccupied tree, all the while snarling and hissing at the creatures below. Gourry and Zelgadiss drew swords and stood at the ready, with Val behind them. Amelia prepared a protective barrier.

The 'man' who had first spoken rested his eyes on the beautiful young dragon lady. He may have sensed that she was a dragon also, but didn't indicate such. "Eh? Who are you? Lovely ladies like you don't pass by often enough."

"Eh, eh, eh! Eyes on ME!" Lina taunted. "I'm the one who ya need to be careful of, and to be real polite to, too. I'm Lina Inverse, the most powerful and beautiful sorceress in the world!"

"L-Lin-naaa!" the dragon-guard paled. Everyone knew of Lina Inverse, one way or the other.

"I see you aren't a dumb as ya look," she smiled. "So, if you'll just step aside and tell yer henchmen to back off, I'll letcher off easy this time."

"E-Everyone, but the demon-trash," the dragon-guard insisted. "None of the Mazouku may enter into Dragon territories."

"But he's my friend!" squeaked Val.

"Shhh," Filia warned him, as he pushed between Zel and Gourry and stood beside Lina.

"Who're you, lil' runt? No friend of the Mazouku, are friends by us."

"I'm Val and IIIIII…" He recklessly started to identify himself and his proud ancestry, when Greyzel, on a word from Zelgadiss, instantly appeared, grabbed the child, and transported him safely up into his tree-perch.

"He's kinda a brat," Lina shrugged. "And the other guy's our personal demon slave, ya got nothin' ta worry 'bout with him. Plays nursemaid to the kid." Her eyes narrowed, now that her limited patience was worn through, "Last I knew, this was a free road for all travelers, human, dragon, and Mazouku alike to travel without harassment."

"Not any more," the guard declaimed, standing his ground foolishly in light of his opposition. "The Black Dragon Consortium claims this land as their domain from when the ancient lines were drawn. Human and Dragon pass, at a cost. No Mazouku."

"I know of no previous claims to this land," Amelia told Lina. "No one holds title to any of this land. It's always been free land, though prone to outlaws."

"Humans," the dragon snorted with disdain. "You think yours are the only laws. This was part of the dragon's domain long before you people came here and cut it up to suit you!"

"What he says…" Filia whispered to Lina. "…is mostly true. Golden Dragons held this land for centuries, but…also…thanks to Xelloss and his nasty kind… those families have long departed."

"Goldens…" sneered the guard. "Those high and mighty bastards got what they deserved. Weak…relying on all the other dragon breeds to do their dirty work while they built shrines to the Gods and sniveled about the bad demons.

"That's not so!" Filia retorted. A full-blown argument, which could reveal more about their plans than Amelia and Zelgadiss wished to expose, was gearing up.

"FIREBALL! FIREBALL! FIREBALL! FIREBALL!" Lina screamed, tossing her enchantments into the ramshackle throng of henchmen and up into the arboreal encampment above. She had had enough of this!

In the trees behind them, another kind of battle was brewing. Greyzel knew Zelgadiss' command was to protect the little dragon-boy, but his very being, from his spiritual astral essence down to the fiber of his wiry hair screamed 'kill the damned dragons!'. When one of the Green Dragons transposed into his dragon form and flew up into the tree, he was sorely tested.

"What have we got here? A little dragon boy? Ya don't see them everyday, and with a demon… What kinda cross-breed dragon are ya, anyway? Yer no Green Dragon, that's fer sure."

"That'sss a seeeecret!" Greyzel hissed and grinned with a great show of his fangs. "Don't touch…"

Amelia heard the rustling of leaves and looked up. Seeing Greyzel about to eviscerate the Green Dragon, she screamed, "No don't! DON'T!"

That was the break the Green Dragon needed. Greyzel hesitated.

"DragonBreath!" chanted the dragon, aiming his fire at Greyzel and Val. Greyzel slid to the front, protecting the child and took the spell on himself full-force.

"Argh!" Zelgadiss reeled with Greyzel's pain passed through the mind-link before he could shut it down.

"Val!" Filia cried out and transformed into her enormous Golden dragon form. She took out the attacker with a single tail whip and caught up both the damaged demon and her son in her arms. "Climb up. Secure!" she commanded Val. He understood and clung to her back ready for a rocky ride.

The little dragon boy could see magical fire through a thick screen of smoke below, but nothing else as his mother launched herself out of the tree and into the air.

Zelgadiss and Gourry fought back to back, trading off protecting and attacking alternatively. "Amelia!" Zel called. "I need an opening here!"

She nodded and through up a barrier between them and their attackers, "It won't hold more than a couple of their attacks, so hurry!"

Zel nodded and began his dance, enchanting his sword with a powerful shaman spell. With a cry, he jumped in front of a trio of dragons and shoved his sword tip through the leader and out the other side, into the ground, "DUG HAUT!"

Enormous rocky spikes shot up from the quaking ground, sending dragon-men flying in all directions.

Gourry was holding off his share of dragons mounting an attack from the rear. "Lina?" he called out, checking on her progress.

Her lips were busy reciting her spell, so she just nodded to him, 'yes get the hell outta here!'

"Ah, Zel…Better run…" Gourry warned him.

Zel whipped around and recognized the familiar words of Lina's chant. "Amelia follow Filia, now!"

"Right!" Amelia cried out, then chanted her own, "Raywing!" and took off over the treetops.

Zelgadiss grabbed Gourry under the arm pits and took to the air, just in time.

"DRAGONSLAVE!" Lina screamed letting fly one of the most powerful spells in her arsenal. That certainly cleared the air…the path…and just about every living thing within a two mile radius.

.:.~*~.:.

The sun was setting on the day by the time the group was reunited and seated around a campfire. They were hours away from any inn or town due to the delay from the dragons. Lina was grousing and reflecting on the days events, alternatively. "What beats me was how they knew we'd be there. I mean, the roadblock maybe, but all those dragons ready for a scrap wasn't just accidental. Made me miss a meal and I gotta sleep on the ground!"

"You think someone told them we were coming?" Amelia asked. "Who knew about us or what our mission was who would do something underhanded like that to us? What would be the purpose?"

"Someone who doesn't want this problem in Atlas City to be resolved…" Lina began to answer.

Zelgadiss interrupted her. "…Or…someone who just wants to stir up some trouble. The Green dragons or the Black seem likely candidates. Both are involved in the trouble in Atlas City so both are causing similar problems here now. A message from Prince Philonel back to Atlas City Council might have gotten intercepted."

"Mebbe," Lina muttered, but she had other suspicions. "I'd sure like ta run into some Green Dragons that I could talk to long enough to find out what the Black dragon goal is. Takin' over all this land seems a bit grandiose, that's all."

Filia was stroking Val's hair as he slept on her lap. "I hope Greyzel is all right…Oh my, did I just say that about a nasty Mazouku? Well, he's just so…Zel-like that I suppose I think of him as part of our company."

"How did he look when you last saw him?" Amelia asked.

"He was unconscious and I could see serious damage to his body, but then…the had enough strength to phase out so I'm guessing that he's healing on the Astral plain like the others of his ilk," the dragon lady sighed.

"I'm sure he'll be just fine," Amelia said to Zel. She touched his arm gently and gazed into his eyes the moment he looked up.

"He is," Zel said, then remembering that the others did not know about his mind-link, he added quickly, "…I have to think Xelloss gave him enough power to survive a single attack like that. Xelloss himself when he was a general/priest could have…and more."

"You just look kind of…worried," Amelia squeezed his arm, a feeling he could appreciate without a rock shell.

"I'm thinking that Xelloss might be either disappointed in him or angry at us for not offering him more protection," Zelgadiss stared off in the direction Gourry had gone to start the first watch as the evening settled in. He hoped Greyzel would simply heal and return before long, without Xelloss' need to intercede. Had Greyzel simply killed that Green dragon outright, and not hesitated on Amelia's word, and more precisely, his order, Greyzel would have escaped harm. Was he actually doing the demon any favors by retaining their link? Was he actually endangering him more? Xelloss would certainly think so.

"I'm sorry," Zelgadiss sighed. "I guess I'm not very good company tonight."

"That's okay! You're just worried about a friend of yours. That's natural." Amelia smiled and moved to sit closer, shoulders touching. "I understand, because I'm worried about a friend of mine."

Zel swiveled his head abruptly, "You are? Who?"

"Why you. I think you miss the Greyzel inside of your head and you aren't really free of him yet…are you, Mr. Zelgadiss?"

Zel's eyes widened. Had she guessed? Or could she somehow detect their mind-link?

"That's okay, Mr. Zelgadiss. I know you two aren't attached actually. I was meaning that you share a lot on an emotional level. You both rely on one another…like a crippled man would a crutch. I can't imagine what a terrible thing separating must have been for you to go through, but you're not really over it, are you?"

Zelgadiss relaxed. She knew him so well, it seemed. Yes, she was right, but at the same time she didn't know about the mind-link. The secret was still safe. "Yes, I suppose I'm not…over it completely. At times, I still don't think of myself as…all human again. That and…I believe I can entrust a secret with you"

Amelia's face softened, "Of course you can!" She was excited to think that at last, Zelgadiss was opening his heart and mind to her and her alone. "I'd love to listen to anything you want to share."

"Well…" Zel began. " Aahhh…" he gasped, then stiffened. "Mazouku…"

"And so would I!" The mockingly happy voice sounded over their shoulders. "And I've brought Greyzel back all cured and whole again. I think he'll know better than let a dragon make the first move in the future." Xelloss' smile was even more unsettling considering the evil glint in his slitted eyes, which were currently boring a hole through Zelgadiss' back.

The End. Zelgadiss Torn, Part 8.