Chapter Thirteen

Although Zelgadis was on the verge of a meltdown at Xellos' words, he decided to go back to Dynast's castle to see if Lina was really there before he allowed himself to break down. Xellos might have a motivation for deceiving him, although Zelgadis couldn't see what that motive might be, he could see no reason why he should just take his word for it.

The trip back to Dynast's castle was as unpleasant as the first, even though Zel employed all his skills as a demon to speed the journey up. It was still blasted cold, and the sky that had been hovering between rose and violet was slowly sinking further into the more royal purples. This far north, days did not exist as they did in more temperate regions and a seemingly endless night was about to begin.

Zel tried to think of things he had noticed about Lina the night before to prove or disprove what Xellos had told him. He went over their time together since he had retrieved her from the castle, for Xellos implied that she was a re-born mazoku before they left. Zelgadis thought and considered and mixed things up again. Not just one thing pointed out Xellos' words to be true, but all of them. Lina had not been particularly interested in the food, she showed no symptoms of being too hot or too cold, but that the temperature of the room meant nothing to her, and the largest thing of all was that she fainted when he kissed her. At the time he believed that it was something to do with her innocence, but now he understood that it was nothing of the sort. If she were a mazoku, then that sort of positive emotion might have been too much for her to bear.

At last he appeared at the front gates of the castle. He wasn't at all eager to learn if what the priest had said was true, but Zel had never been one to hesitate and soon found another window to break for him to gain entrance to the castle. The halls felt colder than they had the first time he had come, but Zel's determination to find Lina was the same and he proceeded even though his body was aching with the cold.

At last he found the throne room. It was a large lofty room with many galleries. He stood at one of these and saw Dynast walking around the room in a circle saying things. At first he could not see what Dynast was circling as there was a pillar in the way, neither could he hear what he was saying. Zelgadis was careful to be extremely quiet as he made his way to a closer gallery to see what was going on.

Zel kept his jaw clenched as he saw that the thing Dynast was talking to and walking around was indeed Lina. She was wearing a white dress, but not the same one she had worn before. It had long transparent sleeves that hung like bells around her, and long white ribbons that hung at her wrists and shoulders. The neckline was square, and accented the shape of her face well. It seemed to Zel that she was wearing a dress to be married in. Zel was about to turn away in disgust when he spotted something by the neckline of her dress that caught his interest. The dress exposed a white line that disappeared into her clothing. Zel knew immediately that it was the mark of where Dynast had wounded her to make her his own.

"Now Lina," Dynast said to her with what seemed to be marked interest. "Call upon the power within yourself to cast a spell."

Lina just stood there like she was under a spell herself. Then it seemed that she stood very still and at last a faint shadowing appeared around her. There was no need for an incantation when one controlled the power from inside one's very own being. Suddenly she turned her face to where Zel could see her better in the light and she opened her eyes – slitted eyes – mazoku eyes.

Zel felt exceptionally sick, and could force himself to watch no more. He backed away from the gallery and down the hall. He was intruding horribly on a scene he never wished to see.

Now Zel sat in his room at the inn. His body hurt desperately, but he could not bring himself to cast a recovery spell on himself. If he did not know how to cure a chimera how on earth could he cure a mazoku? Was there even a way to save her now?

This was a melancholy he had never partaken of. Always, he had felt sorry for himself, sorry for his own body, his own lost humanity. His regrets must be nothing compared to Lina's. There had to be something remaining of the real Lina in the white-clad mazoku. There had to be, otherwise there would be no motive behind why Dynast had wanted her particularly as his servant. Why had Dynast wanted her so especially? What was so fabulous about her that he wanted her?

Zel knew.

Zel knew exactly what was so special about Lina. He knew the reasons why he wanted her to himself so much, but could not think of a reason why Dynast should want her since mazoku were incapable of love. Was a mazoku that had once been human incapable of love as well?

Zel shrugged – he was having a difficult time putting himself together and figuring out what was to be done now. All he knew now was that he had been too late to save Lina. He also felt like a fool for his happiness the night before. He thought that he had saved Lina, and that life was full of new blossoming possibilities because she declared her love for him, but he had been inexpressibly stupid.

Suddenly, Zel raised his head and saw that he was not alone in the room. The man who called himself Xellos was leaning against the wall by the door.

"How did you get in?" Zel asked dryly.

Xellos ignored his question and said, "You never would have called to ask for my help, would you?"

Zel shook his head. "Probably not," he said. "Why on earth would you want to help me? Besides, I really have no idea who you are."

"I'm the Trickster Priest, or would you prefer my other title, the Mysterious Priest?" Xellos said, regarding Zel quite seriously.

"Trickster? All the more reason for me to refuse to have anything to do with you - I've had about all I can stand of tricks lately," Zel said leaning back.

"I'm the Priest/General of Zelas Metallium, not that that is something I normally tell people. In fact, I wouldn't have told you at all except that I have been ordered to make you an offer. Something I think you'll be very interested in and I doubt you would believe that I was authorized to make such an offer unless I revealed who exactly I really am," Xellos said.

"Zelas is involved in this as well as Hellmaster and Dynast? Man alive, this is getting insane! Why are all these dark lords so interested in Lina?" Zel asked leaning back in his chair and wishing desperately that he had something to cure his uneasiness about the whole affair.

"Zelas is not involved in this – directly," Xellos said. "Hellmaster Phibrizzo is the head of the five dark lords, and he asked Zelas if he would be able to use my services. He lost all his followers in the War of the Monster's Fall and has had none since. Generally, he gets on very well on his own, but felt he needed my specific qualities for this mission of his. So, when I speak I am speaking for Hellmaster and not Zelas, though Zelas is my true master."

"Go on," Zel said, wanting to know why Hellmaster was paying so much attention to him.

"Forgive me, I will be incredibly blunt. Recent events have caused Hellmaster to take a very peculiar interest in you. As, I said before, he has no followers of his own and has not created any new mazoku for over a thousand years. Of course when a dark lord distributes power to a minion, a little of his own power must go into the creation of the demon. Hellmaster has been a most careful lord over his own power and thus his powers very much exceed the other four dark lords, but lately he has seen that it is not enough to operate by himself. Dynast and Gaav have both gone beyond their authority and Hellmaster has needed to borrow me. In order to keep control of the situation he had asked me to make an offer to you. He needs a servant."

"You're asking me to join the monster race?" Zel said, his depression over Lina stopping him from spitting in Xellos' face.

"The sort of offer I'm going to make you is actually most flattering. It's not an immortality pledge or something else weak like that. It is the offer to become a re-born mazoku and become his General," Xellos said triumphantly.

Zel stared intently at Xellos. "You can't mean that? Why the hell would he be so interested in me?"

"You said yourself earlier that there must be something very special about the person that makes them a desirable servant," Xellos said.

"Care to expand a little bit on that whole idea?" Zel asked sharply.

"You have always thought yourself at a disadvantage because you're a chimera, but I'll explain to you why it's a huge advantage in this situation. You see, there is a portion of the person left over even after they are re-born as a mazoku – a fairly large portion. That's why mazoku mostly prefer to create pure mazoku rather than use individuals from other species. Phibrizzo considers using humans in this process most filthy, after he's seen all the trouble inflicted when Gaav was forced into a human body. Phibrizzo would never want a human involved in this process, but you . . . you've already been most forcefully removed from humanity. You're powerful as you are now, but with Hellmaster's power you could be unconquerable – a most powerful mazoku."

Zelgadis didn't know what to say to Xellos.

"You're considering his offer?" Xellos asked. "Well, then I must hurry and confess the last parts of the proposal. Remember, will you, that a large portion of a human transformed into a mazoku is still present? And remember also that a mazoku may choose how powerful his minion will become? Lina was not given as much power as a priest or a general. Dynast has a pair of very serviceable priests and a general, and did not bestow even near that same amount of power on her. If you agree to Hellmaster's offer, and become his General, not only will you have been given much more power than Lina, but I will help you remove her from the castle – so you can have her to yourself."

Zel didn't say anything at first. He sat and thought desperately what he could do in a situation like this. "Leave me alone for a little while," he said, "I want to think about this more carefully."

"There is one more thing," Xellos said.

"Well, it will have to wait," Zel said. "I have to think about what you have already told me. Take off!"

"As you say," Xellos said, and took his leave.

"What were your impressions of him, Xellos?" Hellmaster asked significantly.

"As I said earlier," Xellos said. "I think him remarkably intelligent. I think he would make an outstanding general, and I hope very seriously that he will resolve to take you up on your offer. However, he didn't give me the chance to talk to him about the weapon we must acquire before any of this can be done."

"That's too bad," Phibrizzo said. "Do you think he will mind very much having to steal the Sword of Light from his old traveling companion before any of this can be accomplished?"

"It's hard to say, but I think not. Of course I don't think he'll particularly relish going to steal a weapon specifically to be used to slay him. It seems rather grim, but," Xellos said more cheerfully, "Once he learns that the weapon is also to be a present for Lina – I'm sure he'll come around."

"Is that so?" he paused. "Do you think he understands what exactly will happen to him if he agrees?" Hellmaster's reptile green eyes were shining in the half light.

"I did tell him that there was no greater characteristic of a fledgling mazoku then their unfailing loyalty to their creator," Xellos admitted.

"Does he realize that feeling will banish all his thoughts and ideals about Lina?"

"I don't know," Xellos said.