Mirror, rorriM
Chapter 10
He opened his eyes to see the roof of a tent above, and for a moment, wondered where he was. As memory flooded back, he reached up and touched his mask. Yes, it was still in place. Sitting up, he noticed Amelia sound asleep on a nearby mat, no doubt sleeping off the healing work that she'd had to do.
He stood and made his way out of the makeshift tent, and found Lina sitting beside Brynn, talking in a low voice.
"…There's no way that damage was done by a mere fireball. My guess is something stronger, but not as strong as a Burst Flare." Lina was saying as Zelgadis approached. "The Garv Flare could have done this, but that can't be cast anymore."
Brynn nodded a greeting as Zelgadis sat, effectively barging in on the conversation. "So, if you didn't attack the town, Lina, who did?"
Lina sighed. "I don't know. There is another who looks a lot like me, but she's pretty pathetic and can't so much as step on a bug to save her life. And she likes slugs." The sorceress shuddered.
Zelgadis hid his smile from his eyes, grateful that the mask concealed the curving of his lips, but Lina shot him a look anyway, as if she knew.
"But how will you convince the others that it wasn't you, Lina? Davin isn't exactly the… forgiving type. He saw who he thinks to be you, and that is very damning evidence," Brynn replied.
"Well, I could get a whole list of character references… on second thought, scratch that idea." Lina reflected that anything Gourry could possibly add would be more likely to backfire on her than help, and Sylphiel wouldn't offer much better. Amelia, even though she was present would most likely bring up more questions than answers, which left only one course of action. "You'll just have to trust me and let me find this double that I seem to have."
"Trust you? After I saw you destroying my town? After you killed our young Lord?" Davin snarled as he walked towards the trio. "Brynn, why isn't she bound? Did I not tell you to bind her with iron?"
Zelgadis' lips curled into a snarl, hidden by his mask, but Brynn beat him to anything he might have said.
"Davin, iron bonds would do nothing to hold her; she is not fairy folk. She's bound, not in the manner of which you bind, but bound none-the-less. I have bound her, and that is all you need to worry yourself about."
The chimera's eyes snapped to Brynn in startlement. Brynn had bound Lina? By what means had he bound her? And how had she allowed it? Zelgadis looked to Lina, and found to his unpleasant surprise that the sorceress was looking down, a distinct blush flaming across her cheeks.
"And if she's lying to you, Brynn? If she really is the culprit?" Davin folded his arms and glared at the dark-haired sorcerer.
"If she is lying to us, Davin, then we should consider very carefully what we do. She walks the path of Chaos, and should she take offense, she could wipe us from the face of the Four Worlds," Brynn replied calmly.
Davin eyed Lina uneasily, who in turn, gave him a pleasantly dangerous smile. Zelgadis suddenly had that feeling of Impending Doom, and was glad that he knew the real reason Lina hadn't blown them all sky-high.
Ultimately, Davin huffed, and turned to walk towards the area where the injured were resting. He offered no words, just walked away in silence.
Lina sighed in relief, her shoulders slumping. "Brynn, you shouldn't have lied to him."
Lied? Zelgadis blinked at her. Oh. So she isn't bound to him? He raised an eyebrow at the both of them.
"I did not speak a lie, Lina Inverse. I know who you are, and I know what you are. And from everything I know, you are not a cold-blooded killer." Brynn leaned back against a tree trunk. "Yes, you have violent tendencies, and you always have. But you've learned to temper them over the years."
Lina shot a confused and alarmed look to the brunette, and suddenly blushed furiously. "Brynnwon. Brynnwon Avendale. Why didn't I see it? How did I miss that it was you?"
Zelgadis stared at the sorcerers, confused.
Brynn smiled faintly at Lina. "You weren't exactly in very good shape last night, if you'll recall. And with Davin around, I couldn't exactly tell you."
Lina sighed and put her face in her hands. "I can't believe it. I get clonked over the head and drugged by my old Fire Magics instructor."
Zelgadis landed on the ground.
Brynn chuckled softly. "Better than if I'd been Old Thorton. He would have had a field day with you, young lady."
Lina blushed again. "But, Brynn… how did you end up here? I mean, the last I knew was that you were in consideration to be the headmaster of the school."
Brynn's smile turned slightly wistful. "Lina, Lina… didn't I teach you anything? There is never any pay in a school job. I simply moved on to the highest bidder."
Zelgadis stumbled as he tried to retake his seat, and missed the rock again.