Chapter fourteen
Oh my, I'm sorry! I really didn't mean for this update to take so long… but I have good news! There's only one more chapter and then we're all done!
Okay, here we go!
The room was a mess. Items and furniture were scattered across the room in complete randomness. The room had been ransacked. And there, lying face down on the center of the floor was the stony chimera himself.
"Oh my lord!" Lina was leaning over him within a few seconds. Struggling to keep her hands from shaking, she gingerly turned him over onto his back. He didn't seem injured. Lightly, she shook him. "Zel? Zel! For Cephied's sake, Zel, speak to me!"
He groaned in response, and Lina sighed in relief. She carefully pulled him up and he blinked. "Lina?"
She offered him the ghost of a smile. "Yeah… what the heck happened?!"
"Wha-" he began, but then caught sight of his room. "Oh…"
"Yeah, 'Oh'. Now then, what happened?"
He shook his head slightly, and looked around. "I don't know… I got up a little while ago and the last thing I remember is getting hit upside the- THE BOOK!"
Lina blinked at him. "Eh… Zel? I think we should go see Sylphiel and get you checked-"
"No, no!" he interrupted. "The book! White Mage!"
Realization dawned on her, and Lina was suddenly on her feet and frantically tossing aside miscellaneous items as quickly as possible.
"The book! Oh, for L-sama's sake, Zel! You lost the book? You lost the book? How in the nine hells could you of lost the book!"
Zel joined her in the search, though he was much more thorough. "I didn't lose the stupid thing! It's your fault!"
"My Fault? My Fault?!!!! How in the world is this my fault! You lost it!"
The argument continued as the pair continued to search the room. After an hour of search, both stopped and lean slouched in the center of the room.
"How could I of lost the book?" she moaned, before dropping her head into her hands. Zelgadis sat next to her and awkward placed a hand on her shoulder.
Lina shook her head before glancing up. Zelgadis was staring at her, unsure of how to handle the situation.
And then, suddenly, Lina leapt up from her seat on the floor. "FIREBALL!!!!" the nearest chair burst into flames, and Lina smirked with satisfaction. Zelgadis swallowed nervously. Yep, she was defiantly turning back into the old Lina. It would probably be best not to get her angry at this point.
Lina turned to him and her face turned serious. She knelt down beside him and looked at him sternly. "Who ever did this to your room took the book, correct?"
He nodded, fairly sure that was the case. Her hand curled into a fist and began to shake. She lowered her head slightly, and her bangs covered her face.
"That book… is the closest thing to remembrance of my grandmother that I have."
Zelgadis stared. And then it hit him. Of course! The book had belonged to her grandmother, and Lina had thought it lost. So now, it wasn't just about finding out what exactly happened seven years before; that what-ever-it-was (He had a great feeling it was a Mazoku) that had taken a book had stolen something of vast importance. He almost felt pity for the creature.
She raised her head. Her eyes had changed. They were no longer the deep mahogany color he had grown so accustomed to in the past few days. They weren't the eyes of mature, quiet, and almost dead in spirit, Lina Inverse. Instead, they were the eyes of Lina Inverse, the Bandit Killer, Dra-matta, and Sorceress Supreme. The Lina he knew. Deep crimson flames burned in her eyes so bright they nearly rivaled the sun.
As the light in the room struck her hair, he realized it, too, had changed. Instead of the brown-ish color it had been, it was deep red, almost orange. She was back.
"I'm going to kill them."
Such a statement, seven yeas earlier, would have caused Zelgadis to sigh, shake his head, and simply follow her without a word, though inside he didn't want a thing to do with it. But now, he felt a grin spread across his face. Without another word, Lina turned on her heel and began to head down the hall to her room. She was going to need a few things.
And so, she entered her room the woman she had spent seven years as, and left a child again.
Her smile was wide, and meaningful. She was happy. Truly happy, and Zelgadis couldn't help but smile at her. She no longer wore the outfit she had been wearing for so long.
She wore a red shirt, with a piece of yellow cloth stretched across her chest. Red pants, and white boots. Two belts, one with a turquoise gem, the other a ruby, sat on her waist. White gloves that matched her boots rested on her arms, each with a ruby talisman fastened on the wrist.
And, in her hand, she held the final piece. Smiling, she pulled the black headband into its rightful place.
Without a word, she began to head down the hallway. He followed, just like he had years before.
They made their way to the hidden library. The door was fitted into place, hidden once again behind the tapestry.
They together pushed open the door, and Lina took the first steps in. Zelgadis stood in the doorway, not at all surprised by what he was seeing. In the center of the room was a Mazoku, glaring over her shoulder at them. Deep blue hair sat on her shoulders, and her eyes matched the color shade for shade.
In her hand, she held a very familiar book.
"Well, well. If it isn't Baby Inverse," she paused as she looked at Zelgadis, "And her pet."
Lina held her ground. "Who are you?"
The Mazoku grinned and snapped the book closed. "Well, all you need to know is that I'm going to be the only one whom has ever attempted to kill Lina Inverse, and succeed."
With that, the creature teleported out. Lina stood still, looking around carefully. But it only took a second for the Mazoku to appear between the two of them. Her elbow went into Lina's neck, and at the same time, her knee into Zelgadis' gut.
Lina went flying into a near bookcase, while Zelgadis caught the Mazoku's leg with his hand and threw her to the ground. Lina was back on her feet in an instant.
Holding out her hands, she began to summon a spell. "FIREBALL!"
The Mazoku teleported out within a few feet of the flame, and it hit a near off bookcase.
"LINA!" Zel shouted at her, as they found their way back to back.
"Sorry!" she cried, dodging an attack.
Finally, Lina stopped moving. "I'm getting real tired of this," she exclaimed, bracing her. Slowly, she began to chant. Zelgadis felt his eyes widen and struggled to look for shelter at the familiar sound of the spell.
The Mazoku didn't wait for her to finish the spell. Moving so fast she almost became a blur, she rushed at Lina and in an instant had her pinned against a near by wall, her hand on her throat.
Lina struggled, feeling the air leave her lungs. One hand grasped the Mazoku's hand firmly, while the other began to hit the area where the two bones in the arm met. It had no effect. The Mazoku only tightened her grip. Lina felt her knees buckle, and she gasped for breath. On the brink of unconsciousness, she scanned the room for Zelgadis, and saw him just a few feet from the Mazoku, his sword drawn. But he couldn't reach them. His sword clashed against an invisible barrier.
Lina felt weak, and allowed her mind to wander. She remembered her grandmother, and her sister. Gourry, Sylphiel and Amelia. Even Amelia's daughter, whom she had never met. All the people that she had come across, all the time she had spent to save the ground they stood on. And this was how she was going to die? By some lower level Mazoku that wasn't worth the dirt under her feet?
I don't think so!
Struggling, her voice rasping, she began to chant- rhyme- as the words came to her:
"Power of Light, shining hope
With the darkness I cannot cope
I pray for strength to come to me
For light to hear my silent plea
Dark be gone and take your curse
You cannot have this Inverse!"
She screamed the final line, and light suddenly began to swirl around her. The barrier broke, and the room was suddenly bathed in golden rays. The Mazoku's grip dropped, and, screaming, the light began to pierce her figure. Slowly, she disappeared, fading from view. Lina fell to her knees and collapsed on the floor. She vaguely heard Zelgadis call her name as she slowly lost consciousness.
The last thing she thought of before things went black was, Now that was worth it.
Oh my god, one last chapter and we're done! Oh my god! Oh my god! Anywho, Please Review. Means a lot to me.
Knight of L-sama Well I'm sorry! But at least it was an update! I could have left you hanging for a year if I wanted! Don't tempt me! MUWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Samanda Gahh, I'm falling behind again, I'm sorry! I promise that I'll get to work on the next chapter of UV as soon as Quest for Kyuusai is finished.
Yep! I love my cliffies! Hee hee!
Irusta Ah, my loyal fan. What do think of the fact that it's almost over? Don't worry! There's a sequel planned!