Lina watched Gourry finish off another chicken leg and grinned.  "Jeez, Gourry.  Where do you put it all?"  She had never really been able to afford big meals.  After all, hunting for imaginary creatures didn't really pay the bills.

Gourry grinned and wiped his face on his sleeve.  "Oh, you know.  Being a guardsman, I have to keep my strength up."  He turned to their new companion and held up a plate of fish.  "Want some Zel?"

Zelgadis shook his head once and sipped his coffee.  "No, that's quite alright Gourry.  You go right ahead."  He was in something of a foul mood this evening.  Had he overestimated these two?  They were nothing but buffoons.  He heaved a sigh.  Well, Lina might be useful.  He glanced at her and saw that she was staring at him distrustfully.  She would be hard to control though.

"You said you had a proposal, Zel?"  Lina took another gulp of wine and slammed her cup down on the table.  She bellowed, "Hey waiter!  Bring me another one!"  She crossed her arms and looked at Zelgadis warily.  "I'm gonna be honest with you."

Gourry rolled his eyes.  "Oh boy…"

"I don't like you, at all.  So, if you don't start giving me some answers, we're walking right out of here."

Zelgadis snorted as he watched Lina sway in her seat.  "Walk out of here, Lina?  In your current state, I doubt you could walk five steps."  He held up his hand to silence her response and continued, "Anyway, I want you to help me.  You may have noticed that Sairaag is not the bastion of safety that it used to be."

Lina chuckled.  "Zel, I don't know who you think you're fooling.  Sairaag was never safe.  I learned that when I was a little girl."

Zelgadis nodded as he sipped his coffee.  "That's it.  I thought you looked familiar.  You're Luna's little sister if I'm not mistaken." 

Lina muttered, "Yeah, that's right."

Zelgadis had an enigmatic smile on his face.  "Tell me, how is dear Luna these days?"

Lina was trembling with barely contained anger as she glared at Zelgadis.  "Are you mocking me?"

Zelgadis chuckled.  "Not at all.  It was a simple question.  Am I to assume then, that Luna is no longer with us?  That's hardly surprising."

Lina's eyes narrowed dangerously.

Zelgadis continued.  "After all, she always was far too reckless for her own good."  He closed his eyes and took another sip of coffee.  "That's not important though.  My proposal-"

Lina lunged across the table and punched Zelgadis in the face before he could finish.  She would have tackled him if Gourry hadn't restrained her.  She shouted at him, "Don't you ever say anything bad about Sis!"  She struggled to free herself from Gourry's grasp.  "I'll kill you!"

Zelgadis sat on the floor trying to comprehend what had happened.  He looked down at himself and saw coffee all over the front of his shirt.  He gingerly touched his nose and hissed when his hand came away bloody.  Looking around he saw several tavern patrons pointing at him and laughing. 

"Hey buddy!  You try to get frisky with the lady?" was one fat man's incredibly witty comment.

Zelgadis looked at Lina and his expression quickly shifted from bewilderment to hatred.  He snarled, "You … you bitch!"  He leapt to his feet and reached for his sword.

Gourry sighed and muttered, "Lina, do you end up trying to kill everyone you meet?"

Lina struggled against Gourry.  "Well, I haven't killed you yet!  Let me go!"  She kicked him in the shin and slipped out of his grasp.  She pointed at Zelgadis angrily.  "Listen up Zel!  If you want my help, you'd better start showing me a little respect!  And that includes respecting my sister."

Zelgadis glared at Lina through slitted eyes.  This wasn't worth the trouble.  He should kill them both and abort this whole stupid scheme.  He glanced around the room.  Twenty, maybe thirty potential witnesses stared at him.  Could he get them all?  Even if he did, his father was sure to find out about this and that would be the end of Zelgadis's plan, to say nothing of his life.  His decision made, Zelgadis sighed and lowered his sword.  "I … apologize."  He gestured to the table.  "Can we continue?"  He righted his chair and took a seat.

Lina did the same, as did Gourry as soon as he was sure that the potential for violence was gone.

Zelgadis sniffed and wiped his bloody nose.  "As I was saying before you so violently interrupted me, I'd like to propose a partnership.  As you noted, Sairaag isn't a safe place.  I don't know if you've heard of the Eternal Twilight…"

Lina nodded tersely.  "I have."

Gourry spoke up.  "That's the thing with the headless guys, right Lina?"

Lina and Zelgadis both stared at Gourry for a moment before continuing their conversation.

"Some people in the church seem to think that the Eternal Twilight never ended.  I don't know about that, but things have been getting pretty bad lately.  Something dark is growing within the city and the Slayers don't have any idea of what it is or how to stop it."

Lina grinned cockily.  "And you need the infamous Slayer Lina Inverse to bail you guys out, right?"

Zelgadis sulked for a moment before muttering, "Well, I wouldn't have put it quite like that, but yes that is the gist of it.  Well, what do you say?"

Lina crossed her arms.  "What's in it for me?"

Zelgadis chuckled.  "Are you a Slayer or a mercenary?  What happened to working for the greater good?"

Lina grinned.  "I don't mind doing my work.  That's not the problem.  But, when I have to do someone else's work because they're too damn stupid to figure out what's going on, I need a little compensation."  She rubbed her fingers together.  "So, cough up some cash or we walk Zel."

Zelgadis sighed and reached into his cloak.  He threw a large pouch of money onto the table.  "500, Is that enough?"

Lina tried to maintain a neutral expression.  She'd never even seen 500 gold pieces before.  With that much money she could buy all sorts of things.  She imagined all the possibilities, Silver.  The silver dust was useful, but prohibitively expensive.  She'd saved for a month to buy the last pouch of it.  Maybe some new clothes too.  Maybe even a dress.  She'd never had a dress before.  That would be nice.  And maybe a couple days at an inn with a bed that she didn't have to check for rats before sleeping in.

Gourry and Zelgadis watched nervously as Lina stared off into space giggling.

Zelgadis leaned over and whispered in Gourry's ear, "Um, is she okay?"

Gourry nodded as he munched on some bread.  "I think you have a deal, Zel."

Lina cleared her throat and struggled to keep the grin off her face.  "Yes, I think that we can do business, Zel."  She quickly stashed the sack of gold in her cloak.  "This will do as a down payment."

Zelgadis was sipping his coffee and sputtered.  "Down payment?!"

Lina looked at Gourry happily.  "Well Gourry, are you ready to go?  We have work to do!"

Gourry scratched his head.  "We' have work to do?  Lina, why do I have to go with you?"

"Well if you think about it, it makes sense Gourry.  You're a member of the guards.  You're supposed to be on the lookout for trouble.  I'm usually getting into trouble.  So, when I kill some evil little beastie, you'll already be there for damage control, saving the city millions.  That makes sense, doesn't it?"

Zelgadis cleared his throat.  "Uh, hello?  'Down payment?"

Gourry frowned.  "I guess so, Lina."  His expression brightened.  "So does this mean that I get some of that money?"

"No", Lina said flatly.

"No?  Why not?"

Lina sighed.  "Well Gourry, you're a city guard.  How do you think it would look if people found out that an innocent little girl like me actually had to pay a guard for protection?"

Gourry sighed.  "Not good, right?

Lina nodded solemnly.  "Not good at all Gourry.  So, I'll do you a favor and keep all the money.  I will let you pay for dinner though.  That makes you look good too, you know."

Zelgadis whispered to Gourry, "She's kidding about the down payment thing, right?"

Gourry watched Lina happily counting her money for a moment.  "I wouldn't bet on it."

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"You really should be more careful."  Phibrizzo admonished Tony's corpse.  "You never can tell what kind of people you'll meet in the dark."  He slung the body to the ground and took a quick look up and down the street.  Seeing that he was alone, he picked his burden up with a grunt and continued.  "Are you even listening to me, Tony?"

Tony's glassy eyes stared straight ahead, but saw nothing.

Phibrizzo shook his head and grinned.  "My, my. Children these days.   No respect for anyone.  As I was saying, it's dangerous to wander around alone.  You're lucky you met me though.  Old Hellmaster will take care of you.  Ah, here we are!"  He looked up and smiled. An old condemned building loomed before him.  "Home sweet home."  He walked up a rickety set of stairs and kicked the rotted front door in.  "I really think that you're going to like it here Tony.  We all have so much fun."  He walked down a pitch-black hallway, his eyes glowing red in the darkness.  "So much fun."  He began to hum happily as he dragged the body through the building.  "Let's see.  Not this one.  No, no.  Ah, here we are!"  He slung Tony onto the ground and opened a door. 

A flight of stairs led downwards into the blackness.  The scent of rotten meat hung heavily in the air.

Phibrizzo grimaced and fanned the smell away from his face.  "Phew!  Some of our friends down there are getting a little ripe, but I'm sure you'll love it.  Well, off you go!"  He pointed down the stairs as if expecting Tony to scamper down them.  He rolled his eyes and muttered, "You're being a real pain Tony.  Wake up!"

Tony's body jerked spastically for a moment before it jumped to its feet.

Phibrizzo laughed.  "That's the spirit!  Now, you're going to need this."  He handed Tony a large, rusty sewing needle and some wire.  "Just find a spot and tuck yourself in, will you?  I'd do it myself, but there's still so much work to do."

Tony took a couple of jerky steps towards the stairs.

Phibrizzo held out a foot and tripped Tony causing him to tumble down the stairs.  He called after him, "Oh, watch out for that first step!"  He laughed cruelly.

Tony sat up at the bottom of the stairs and looked up at Phibrizzo.  The needle jutted from one of his eyes.  Apparently unhindered, he stood and, with the same jerky movement as before, continued on into the darkness.

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"Well, that could have gone a little smoother, Lina.  Do you always have to be the center of attention?"  Gourry glanced around the room at the other tavern patrons.  They were all eyeing Lina's sack of gold greedily.  He sighed.  "There's going to be trouble later.  Hey, are you even listening to me?"

Lina dropped the last of the coins into the sack.  "500.  Oh, wow!  He was serious!"  Lina giggled and put the sack away before turning to Gourry.  Her mirth faded instantly.  "Later, Gourry?  There's trouble now." 

"What do you mean Lina?"

Lina started to list things on her fingers.  "First of all, no Slayer would ever be able to afford to pay me this much.  Especially as a down payment.  Sis and I used to live in a bad section of town and she was the best Slayer the church had."

"Yeah, about that Lina.  What happened to your sis-"

"Secondly!"  Lina said loudly, cutting Gourry off.  "Given the secretive nature of the Slayers, they would never ask an outsider to do their work.  There's too much opportunity for gossip if they had a freelancer working for them."  She sighed heavily.  "And finally, did you notice how eager Zel was to keep our meeting discreet?"

Gourry shook his head.  "How so?"

"Well Gourry, instead of taking us to a safe house, he takes us to a seedy little tavern.  On top of that, he backed down from a fight just now.  That doesn't seem like his style.  He doesn't want anyone to know what he's doing, and that makes me nervous."

"I see."  Gourry scratched his head.  "So, what are we going to do now, Lina?"

"We' aren't going to do anything Gourry.  You're going to go home and go to bed.  I'm going to take a walk and try to figure some things out."  Lina stood and stretched.  "I'll see you tomorrow night, okay?"

Gourry looked nervous.  "A walk?  Lina, it's three in the morning."  He looked around the room suspiciously.  "And these guys would probably love to relieve you of your money."

Lina winked at Gourry.  "Aw, are you worried about me?"  She frowned.  "Well, don't!  How many times do I have to tell you that I can take care of myself?"  She stomped out of the tavern.

Gourry watched her leave, a hurt expression on his face.  He sighed and threw some coins on the table.  "What's her problem anyway?"

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Lina walked down the street, lost in thought.  Her face was still pink from embarrassment.  She muttered, "Stupid Gourry, worrying about me.  I don't need anyone to worry about me.  I'm not worried."  She looked down to see her hands shaking violently.  She crossed her arms.  "I can take care of myself."

Glancing up, Lina realized where she was heading.  "Home."  She chuckled.  "This is my street."  She picked up her pace slightly and continued on.  "Well, why did you ask for his help?  That was pretty damn stupid, Lina."  She shrugged.  "Well, he's strong and pretty good with a sword.  He could be helpful."

An image of Gourry's face came to Lina.  Those friendly blue eyes.  That long blond hair.  That handsome face.  He was so…

Lina whispered, "Cute."  Her face turned crimson at the thought.  "You've known him for twenty four hours!  Get a grip.  He could be a monster or something."  She shook her head and sighed.  Gourry was no monster.  She was sure of that.  "He does have a girlfriend though."  That Sylphiel girl.  She could cook, sew, and she was probably beautiful too, a lot prettier than Lina, at least.

Lina looked around briefly before rolling up her sleeve.  Her scars were horribly visible in the pale moonlight.  She snorted.  "Yeah, right.  There are stray dogs prettier than you, Lina."  Having thoroughly depressed herself, she walked on in silence for a while.

Lina's breath caught in her throat when she looked up.  The burned out skeleton of her old home loomed before her.  Putting her thoughts of Gourry aside for the moment, she carefully picked her way through the building until she came to her old apartment.

It was a ruin of burnt lumber.  Anything of value would have been looted a long time ago, so there was really no reason to go in.  If Lina were smart, she would turn around and leave.  She had to find a place to spend the day and there was other stuff to worry about anyway.

Throwing logic aside, Lina walked through the remains of the doorway and began to sift through the rubble.  There was the table that was missing a leg.  Luna had snapped one of them off in an attempt to defend herself, she remembered.

Lina sniffled quietly as the memory came flooding back.  Luna ordering her out the window, Luna staying behind to stall their pursuer, Luna dying horribly because of Lina.  She sobbed, "I'm sorry, Sis."

Moving one particularly large board aside, Lina gasped.  Her hands shaking, she reached down and picked up the sad ruined remains of a teddy bear.  Luna had spent three days worth of tips on it, she remembered.  It had been a birthday present, one of the few that she had gotten since their parents had died.

"Take good care of it", Luna had said, trying but failing to conceal a smile.

Lina had happily agreed of course.  It had been an honest to goodness birthday present.  "Thanks Sis!  I will!"

"So much for that promise, huh?"  Her eyes glistening with tears, Lina hugged the grimy bear tightly, as if she could reclaim some of her lost happiness.  She heard quiet footsteps behind her and sighed.  Gourry had been right after all.  Those greedy bastards from the tavern wanted her money.  She set the stuffed animal safely out of the way and turned to face the intruder.  "I am really not in the mood for this right now, so if you run away I might let you live."

"Oh my heavens.  I do hope that you'll spare an old man's life."  The indistinct figure stepped out of the shadows.  It was an older man wearing the robes of a priest.  He had shoulder length purple hair with streaks of gray at his temples.  He opened an azure eye and grinned.  "How have you been young lady?"

Lina's eyes widened in surprise.  She laughed and ran towards the figure, almost tripping over a scorched hunk of lumber before flinging herself into his waiting arms.  "Xellos!"

Xellos chuckled.  "Careful there, Lina.  I'd hate to see you hurt yourself.  Here, let me have a look at you."  He lifted her chin with a finger, revealing a pretty face smudged with dirt.  "My, my.  Look at how you've grown!"  He wiped a smidge of dust off her cheek with his gloved hand.

Lina smiled.  "It's so good to see you!  How have you been?"  She hugged Xellos tightly.

"Oh, better than I deserve."  Xellos glared over Lina's shoulder at a man hiding in the shadows across the street.

"Xellos, huh?"  Zelgadis keen ears had caught the man's name as easily as if he had been standing right next to them.  He snorted.  The priest obviously couldn't see him, concealed as well as he was.  His eyes widened when Xellos grinned wickedly and waggled a finger at him, as if admonishing a misbehaving child.  He whispered, "How the hell?"  He looked to the east where the sky was just beginning to turn pink.  The dawn was approaching.  He would have to abandon this new mystery until another evening.  "Damn it."  Giving the priest one last venomous glare, he turned on his heel and sulked into the darkness of the alley.

Xellos watched Zelgadis through slitted eyes, while gently stroking Lina's hair.  Only a few days back, and his young charge had already managed to stir up more trouble than even she suspected.  Oh well.  He would have been disappointed if she hadn't.  When he was sure that Zelgadis was gone, he turned back to Lina and kissed a clean spot on her forehead.  "And how have you been, Miss Inverse?  Or is it missus now?"

Lina blushed and gently smacked Xellos on the arm.  "Of course it's Miss!  I'm only eighteen you know!"

Xellos raised an eyebrow.  "Oh, is that all?  It seems like it's been an eternity since I last saw you.  You disappeared after your sister's funeral.  I was worried about you."

Lina shook her head and sighed.  "I'm sorry Xellos.  It hurt too much to stay.  I didn't mean to worry you or anything."

"Don't concern yourself with that.  We all have to deal with problems in our own way.  I always knew that you'd be back."  Xellos eyed the medallion around Lina's neck.  "You're carrying on her work, I assume?"

Lina looked at Xellos in disbelief.  "How did you know?"

"That, my dear, is a secret.  Now come along.  The hour is late and you need some rest.  You can stay in the spare bedroom.  I've already made it up."  Xellos took Lina's arm and began to gently lead her out of the wreckage.

"Hold on a sec."  Lina broke away from Xellos briefly and picked up her stuffed bear.  She slipped it into her cloak and walked back over to the priest.

Xellos smiled indulgently.  "Ready?"

Lina nodded and fell into step beside the priest.  "You know, I've never really understood you, Xellos."

Xellos raised an eyebrow.  "Oh?  Do tell."

"Well, like tonight for instance.  How did you know that I didn't have a place to stay?  And what were you doing out here before dawn?"  Lina glanced at Xellos, who was making a point of staring straight ahead.  "And this isn't the first time, either.  You always knew when I fell asleep during one of your sermons."

"Well, as often as that happened Lina, I wouldn't think that you would find it surprising."

"Yeah, I guess so."  Lina thought for a second.  "That wasn't the only thing though.  You always had candy for me when I was feeling sad." 

"Cherry lollipops."  Xellos nodded.  "They were your favorite."

"That's right. I guess what I want to ask is, what's your secret?"

Xellos stroked his chin for a moment, lost in thought.  He smiled and answered, "Well Lina, if I told you my secret," He chuckled before continuing.  "Then it wouldn't be a secret would it?"

Lina sighed in defeat.  "You're impossible."

"Hmm, so I've been told."  Xellos glanced over his shoulder, as if looking for some pursuer.  The street behind them was empty though.  He smiled.  "Well, let's see about that room, shall we?"

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Zelgadis threw the heavy stone door open as if it were weightless.  He stormed down the stairs into the safety and comfort of the darkness.  This evening had been most infuriating.  First, that obnoxious Inverse girl had the nerve to strike him.  He touched his broken nose.  By tomorrow night, it would be totally healed, but that was beside the point. 

Then there was the small matter of that priest, Xellos.  Somehow, he had known that Zelgadis was following Lina.  He replayed Xellos's mocking wave in his mind.  Now there was another enigma wandering around his city that didn't know his place.  He tore his cloak off and flung it onto the floor. 

Trying to focus on something positive, Zelgadis thought of Dilgear.  At least that part of his plan had gone off without a hitch.  He smiled wickedly.  In the end everything would work out.  All the pieces would fall into place and the random factors, Lina and that Xellos to be specific, would be taken care of.  One way or another.  He sat down upon his throne and closed his eyes. 

Zolf, a frail and gray haired old man, stepped out of the shadows of the chamber and cleared his throat.

Zelgadis sighed.  "Speak."

"A message from the capital, my lord.  From your father."

Zelgadis's eyes flew open and he stared at Zolf.  "What?  Give it to me!"  He snatched the roll of parchment from his servant and examined the seal.  It was the symbol of the church.  This was definitely from his father.  He broke the seal and scanned the contents of the letter silently.  He looked up at Zolf and muttered, "He's coming."

"Excellent news, my lord!"  Zolf bowed down at Zelgadis's feet.  "Everything is going just as you planned."

"Hmm."  Zelgadis's expression darkened and he thought briefly about Lina and Xellos. 

"Is there a problem, my lord?" 

Zelgadis looked down at where Zolf was groveling at his feet.  "Nothing that you need to concern yourself with.  Make preparations for my father's arrival.  We only have a few weeks to put everything in order."

Zolf nodded eagerly.  "Of course, master!"  He hurried off into the darkness, leaving Zelgadis alone with his thoughts again.

"Xellos", Zelgadis muttered darkly.  He had only seen the man briefly, but already he disliked him greatly.  He nodded.  Tomorrow night, he would pay the mysterious priest a visit.  He would ascertain whether or not he was a threat and deal with him accordingly. 

Content with his decision, Zelgadis slipped into a dreamless slumber.

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Next Chapter:  Zelgadis discovers that he isn't the only manipulator in Sairaag.  Who can Lina trust?

Notes:  I know it took a while, but rest assured that the story is coming along nicely.  The next chapter is already done and chapter 5 is off to a good start.

Is everyone enjoying the story so far?  I especially enjoyed writing the Hellmaster bits in these last two chapters.  Usually, I write pretty impulsively and there's not really any buildup or suspense in my stories.  I'm trying to change that with Phibrizzo and another villain that's going to be popping up soon.  All in all, I'm very pleased with how this has come out so far.

Oh, a very special thanks to my beta reader, Boo-san!  Take a bow, Boo!

Reviewer Response:

Thanks to Colin, Slash, and Zaber for your kind words.

Pogo, you thought Gourry was a bit too dumb?  Is that possible?  Just kidding.  I know Gourry's not stupid.  I'll try to tone it down a bit in the next couple chapters.

CT, on board for another of my stories, eh?  Hope you enjoy it.  As to whether or not Zel's a villain, think of it this way.  Zel's going to be Zel.  Cold, kind of a jackass, and power hungry.  The only difference is that he's not cursed in this story.  Well, not in the usual sense, anyways.  Look for Amelia to make her first appearance in the next chapter.

Thanks for reading everyone!