I don't own Slayers

=Chapter VIII=

As they were nearing the town of Zephilia, Lina had grown very quiet as well as lost a bit of color. Sure, the last few hours, she had been trying to verbally abuse Zel for having "partaken in the viewing of [her] at [her] most private moments!" This, of course, was after the physical abuse she inflicted upon him earning him a lot of bruises--exactly how she bruised someone with stone skin is something only she and the chimera know. Zel, himself, wasn't making it any better by referring to her "lack of manners and making the people around [her] worry that [she] was suffering through some mental damage." But now, everything around them was tense, as if they had waited for this moment for an eternity.

Lina let out a shaky laugh to alleviate the empty, almost violent feeling, in the pit of her stomach. She had never felt like this--especially on a job--before, and sure as hell, didn't like it. She glanced at Zel who looked more rigid than usual.

The carriage that they were in slowed to a stop. Zel could hear the sounds of dirt being crunched under a person's foot as they gingerly made their way toward them. Suddenly, as if realization just dawned on him, Zel quickly covered his face in his mask and sat motionless while he listened for the guard.

"That mask makes you look more suspicious," Lina muttered, her face still pale and her hands shaking slightly.

Zel caught those movements in a swift glance at her then looked away. He tied his mask on more securely. He didn't care if he was asked a lot of questions. He could easily ignore that, but when it came right down to too many stares…a memory erupted in his mind and he quickly suppressed it.

Lina glared at Zel's mask and pointed furiously at it till she got his attention. 'Take it off!'

He shook his head vigorously. 'Make me!'

'Self-conscience son of a--' Lina rolled up her sleeves and was about ready to pounce when a knock sounded at the door. Lina frowned. Even though she didn't know much about Zephilia, she knew that it was a small town…and with every small town, anybody that was new was gossiped about. The more the town's people knew about them, the harder it would be to sneak into a place and take something. The best thing to do in a small town, was try to blend in. How was she going to accomplish that feat when her "partner" acted like a beacon for speculation!

The door swung upon, and Lina had to relay on instinct. She turned Zel's face toward her, ripped off his mask, and planted a kiss on his lips. He was too surprised to do anything except sit there and take it…then, just to annoy her, take advantage of it. But, before either of them realized it, they had forgotten where they were. The world just seemed to vanish and all they paid attention to was the duel that was taking place at a much more intimate level.

The guard coughed just a bit and the world came crashing down. She broke the kiss, looking a bit startled, then looked over Zel's shoulder while replacing the mask on his face. "Ya know the nobles thez dayz sir, a'wayz tryin to hide der meetin's wit us simple town folk," she faked an accent that sounded almost realistic in Zel's ears--ears that were currently turning red.

Most nobles who cheated on their wives always went to small towns. In fact, it was such a high occurrence that no one really cared for that kind of gossip anymore. But, Lina didn't really care about that information anymore. She was too busy trying to forget the feel of his lips on hers…

The guard nodded and winked at her. "Maybe when your donz wit' him, m'lady, youz can visit me." Without anymore questions, he shut the door on them and the carriage continued on.

Lina pulled away from Zel, her face gaining more and more color as the carriage moved further into the town, as was his. They looked at each other for a moment then cast their eyes somewhere else, highly embarrassed. "That's something you don't do every day!" she said cheerfully and patted him on the back awkwardly in attempt to break the heavy atmosphere that had surrounded them.

She failed.

===

Lina stared at the house, large and luminous against the dark sky. She thought that she had seen it from somewhere before, maybe from a dream. Suddenly, fire burst from the windows and started to flow up the walls. It drowned the house, tasting and eating the wooden panels and slowly breaking it apart.

Lina shook her head, blinking furiously. The mansion was back to normal as if nothing had happened. Where had she seen the fire, exactly. Shrugging she decided to put it in the back of her mind. She had a job to do.

Zel, who was behind her, was leaning against a wall with his eyes closed and a faint blue light surrounding his body. Suddenly, his eyes popped open and he grinned as he returned from something he called the 'Astral Plane.' "Three men are in the house, one on the first floor just walking around. He's probably a guard or something…he has magic, so watch out for him. There's another on the second floor. He's stationary as if guarding something. I think that's where the painting is. He had a power to him but wasn't in him. He may be carrying a powerful weapon. And…" Zel felt something else, but he wasn't sure what it was. "There might be something or someone else in there."

Lina stared at him. She had to admit, that it was nice to have him tell her who was in there since she would be going in there practically blind. Usually, she would stake out the house for a days, or if necessary, a few hours, but right now, they didn't have much time till the sun would come out and for this job, they needed the darkness.

She waited until he was out of site before she stalked closer to the house, her senses alive as she used the darkness for cover. Before she knew it, she was next to the mansion. She reached out and touched the panel and suddenly a rush of memories flooded her brain.

Fire was everywhere, surrounding her body. She couldn't move in fear that if the fire touched her, it would eat her alive…but she had to do something! She couldn't just stay there and die. So, she dropped to her knees, crawling through the maze of the house and calling out, "ONEE-CHAN!"

Lina grabbed her throat, wondering if she actually yelled that out loud or just remembered something from her repressed past.

Shaking slightly, she walked around the mansion searching for a place to enter. After a quick survey, she noticed that the only place to go, was through a window that was opened slightly, but the light was still on. She took out one of her flatter blades and held it just above the windowsill. Looking in, she noticed that the door was open and a man was pacing there almost every 20 minutes.

Lina shoved her blade back up her sleeve after seeing him leave. She cracked open the window and climbed in. Everything looked so damn familiar as if she knew this place inside and out…but that was impossible, wasn't it? She had never been there before.

"Is anyone there?" Lina heard a soft voice that was swiftly coming toward her.

The door was shoved open and a figure stepped inside. They looked around the room, wondering what had made that minute noise. Then there eyes traveled to the window. "I guess I forgot to shut it," he said to himself and walked over to it.

===

Zel stared at the mansion. She had been in there for an awfully long time and he had forced himself to remain calm, although he was pacing now. He wanted to know what was going on inside, but to go into the Astral plane to check things out might invite disaster. He continued to pace, his body taut as if he were ready to pounce on the first thing that he would see.

That's when he heard a soft sound making it's way toward him. Zel stopped momentarily and looked up, his hand going down to his side and unsheathing his sword.

He could feel his eyes widen slightly as a figure emerged from the darkness. "You…"

===

Lina walked up the stairs, her eyes searching around the house quickly. It almost seemed too easy to be sneaking around the house…was it because the men guarding it were really crappy at their job, or was something coming up.

"AUUUGGGGGGHHHHHH!"

Lina almost froze before she realized that someone from downstairs was making their way up the stairs. She quickly sprinted up the rest of the stairs and then slipped down a hallway. She saw the man from downstairs running past her.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!"

Lina took out her blade once again and looked into it. A woman stood over the two unconscious cronies, her hand raised in anger. Short purple hair, that reminded her of Xelloss, and wearing a tight black body suit, she walked up to a painting that had tons of lines. She touched it with a gloved hand and Lina could sense a power, stronger than any magician that she had ever felt.

"This isn't it," she murmured.

She turned around and Lina gasped at the woman's eyes. They were exactly like her own-- scarlet in shade--except the other girl's eyes were missing something. With dim realization, Lina knew what she was missing.

A soul.

=End Chapter=