Gourry and Zangulus were making their last round on their new patrol route.  It had been a fairly uneventful evening, all things considered.  They had only broken up four bar brawls, two gang fights, and stopped one attempted murder.

"You know, this really isn't so bad."  Zangulus winced as he tried to staunch the flow of blood coming from his sword arm. 

Gourry blinked at Zangulus in surprise.  One of his eyes was bruised and almost swollen shut.  "You think so?"

Zangulus grinned smugly.  "Yeah, I honestly thought we'd be dead by now."  He nodded to a bench on the side of the road.  "Let's sit down for a minute.  I'm beat."  He shoved his way through the throng of citizens.  He muttered, "Excuse me", as he pushed past a heavyset man. 

The man looked at Zangulus with contempt.  "Bite me."

"Thank you, sir", Zangulus muttered sarcastically.  He flopped down on the bench with a grunt and sighed.  "So Gourry, what were you doing last night while I was being hoisted up a flagpole by a bunch of punks?"

Gourry smiled as he sat down beside Zangulus.  "Helping Lina."

"Lina?  You ditched guard duty for a woman?"  Zangulus chuckled.  "Well, I can't say that I blame you.  So, what's she like?  She doesn't have green hair does she?  Because you know how much I like that."  He elbowed Gourry in the ribs.  "I might have to steal her from you."

"No, her hair's red."  Gourry scratched his head.  "Hmm, I thought you met her.  You know, the girl that the headless guy was trying to bite a couple nights ago.  You remember, right?"  He nodded at Zangulus. 

Zangulus looked at Gourry uncomprehendingly for a moment.  "What?"  He groaned and slapped his forehead after figuring out what his partner was talking about.  "Oh no!  Not the psycho!  Gourry, are you nuts?!"

Gourry looked surprised.  "Hey, what's wrong with her?  She's pretty nice."  His brow furrowed in thought, he muttered, "Well, she hasn't exactly been nice to me, but I'm sure she could be if she felt like it."

Zangulus thought back to his only encounter with Lina.  She had yelled at him and then he had been flying through the air before landing in a pile of rotten fruit.  He grimaced.  "You're kidding, right?  She's weird Gourry, weird and crazy."

Gourry shook his head vehemently.  "No she's not!  She's-" He stopped in mid sentence and looked around cautiously.  He whispered, "You hear that, Zangulus?"

Zangulus cocked his head for a moment before shrugging.  "Not a thing."

"Exactly.  Something's not right."  Gourry stood and drew his sword.  The sound of steel rang out in the deathly silent night.

Moments ago, the streets had been packed with people.  Now, Gourry and Zangulus were the only ones left.  Silence hung in the air like a shroud.  The lights in the buildings along the streets were dark.

Zangulus rolled his eyes.  "For Ceiphied's sake, now what?"  He stood with a grunt of pain and drew his sword.  He hissed in surprise as he saw something up the street.  He whispered, "Gourry?"

Gourry whispered in return.  "Yeah?"  Somehow it didn't feel right to speak aloud.

Zangulus shuddered.  "What do you make of that?"

A large cloud of fog crept down the street towards the two guards.  Whenever it would overtake a street lamp, the light would dim momentarily and then be snuffed out completely.  Within moments, Gourry and Zangulus were knee deep in mist.

Gourry looked down at his feet, Or tried to anyway.  Just below his knees visibility dropped off completely.  It was like they were standing in a cloud.

Zangulus sniffed the air and made a disgusted face.  "Gourry, do you smell that?"

Gourry took a deep breath and the rich smell of a bog assaulted his senses.  He coughed and muttered, "It smells like a swamp."  But that wasn't quite it.  It smelled marshy enough, but there was something else there that he couldn't place.

Zangulus shook his head.  "No, it's more like meat that's gone bad.  What the hell is going on?"  He looked around cautiously.  Now the mist was up at waist level and the buildings a few feet away were nothing but shadows looming in the night.

Gourry's eyes narrowed as he stared into the fog.  He pointed at something a few feet away.  "Zangulus, look at that."

Not more than ten feet away, about a dozen dark shapes were moving through the mist.  The sound of slow, shuffling footsteps reached the guards.

Despite the fact that it had been a hot summer night, Gourry and Zangulus found themselves shivering.  The temperature had dropped several degrees in the last few moments.  They felt a sudden wave of terror wash over them.  Lesser warriors would have fallen to the ground weeping.  The two guards shuddered briefly before steeling themselves for combat.

Zangulus wiped the cold sweat off his brow and called out, "Who goes there?"  His normally strong voice was pitifully small in the night.

The footsteps stopped for a moment when the figures heard the challenge.  Then they resumed at a quicker pace.  The shapes quickly moved towards the guards.

Zangulus glanced at Gourry as he assumed a defensive stance.  "What in the hell is going on, Gourry?"

Gourry sighed and took a step towards the advancing shadows.  "I don't know."  He muttered, "Lina would know.  I'm sure of it."  Then he raised his sword as the first of the shapes came into clear view.

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Lina walked down a dimly lit alley, almost wishing that there would be some mugger or other unsavory type lurking in the shadows.  She needed to blow off some steam.  Sadly enough, the shadows seemed to be devoid of life this evening.  She muttered, "It figures."

"What's that?"

Lina spun around to find herself face to face with a grinning Zelgadis.  "Zel!  What are you doing here?!"

Zelgadis chuckled quietly.  "You know, for a Slayer you're embarrassingly easy to follow."  He shrugged.  "How you've managed to survive as long as you have is a mystery to me."

Lina rolled her eyes and muttered darkly, "Yeah, whatever.  So what brings you out here tonight, Mr. Personality?"

"Following up on my investment.  Do you honestly think that I'd throw that much money at you without seeing what you were doing?"  Zelgadis walked over to the side of the alley and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.  "I'm not stupid, you know."

Lina chuckled.  "What's the matter, Zel?  Did you think I was going to skip town with your cash?  I was raised better than that."

Zelgadis waved a hand dismissively.  "Never mind that.  Did you find anything yet?"

Lina sighed.  "This isn't an exact science you know.  I need a few days to get some idea of what I'm dealing with here.  Unless you've got some sort of lead for me, I suggest you leave me alone and let me work." 

Zelgadis shook his head and sighed.  "Work' Lina?  You see that's why I'm concerned."  He sniffed the air and wrinkled his nose in disgust.  "When I pay someone to do a job, I expect them to do a little more than drag themselves to the nearest tavern and drink themselves stupid."

Lina glared at Zelgadis.  "Bye, Zel.  I'll be in touch."  She turned and continued on down the alley.

Zelgadis called after Lina.  "Children, Lina."

Lina stopped in her tracks and shuddered slightly.  "Go on."

Zelgadis walked up and fell into step beside Lina.  "Whatever it is, it hunts children.  People are getting nervous."

"I expect so."  Lina sighed shakily.  "You know, this information could have been brought to my attention yesterday."  She looked down to see her hands shaking again and quickly crossed her arms.

"I would have mentioned it last night, but your violent outburst distracted me."

Lina glanced over at Zelgadis's face and gasped.

Zelgadis cocked an eyebrow at Lina.  "Something wrong?"

Lina quickly shook her head and chuckled.  "I thought I saw a slug.  I can't stand slugs.  They're so icky and slimy, you know?"  She forced a laugh, hoping that Zelgadis would drop the subject.  Her mind was racing.  She was sure that she had broken Zelgadis's nose last night, but it appeared to be in perfect condition now. 

Zelgadis grinned.  "A slug, Isn't that strange."  His grin became a scowl as he eyed Lina suspiciously.  "Especially considering that it was apparently on my face, right?"

Lina paled slightly and shook her head.  "No, on the wall back there."  She slid her hand under her cloak to where she had her stake hidden.  "See?"  She nodded at the far wall of the alley.

Zelgadis refused to take the bait and continued to watch her silently.

"I guess I was wrong though."  Lina cleared her throat.  "Anyway, back to business.  Where have the kids been disappearing?"  She thought for a moment.  No normal human could have healed as fast as Zelgadis had.  That meant there had to be something supernatural about him.  Werewolf?  No, that wasn't it.  The moon was full and he was acting perfectly normal.  Besides he didn't have the excessive hair and vaguely animalistic features associated with werewolves.

Zelgadis shrugged.  "All over the city.  Whoever's been doing this has been moving around.  The Slayers haven't been able to figure out a pattern yet."

Lina's brow was furrowed in thought.  "Why hasn't the city guard been involved?"  Her mind raced as she tried to figure out Zelgadis's secret.  A vampire maybe?  She stole a quick glance at his face.  No bulges in the upper lip from the overdeveloped canines.  Besides, she had seen him eating and drinking in the tavern last night.  A vampire would have been ill if it was forced to consume normal food.  It had to be something else then.

"The guards know about the crimes, but they're just as lost as the Slayers at this point.  Besides, I'd rather you found the killer than the guards anyways.  Some of the crime scenes were rather… messy.  Runes formed with the entrails of the victims were found in some places.  Others just vanished.  It's strange."

"Runes?"  Lina nodded.  "Then I have to assume that it's blood magic."  She gave up on trying to figure out Zelgadis's secret for now.  It would require some research and she didn't want to make him any more suspicious than he already was.

Zelgadis smiled, revealing perfectly normal teeth.  "You are well informed, aren't you?  Yes, it's safe to assume that blood magic is involved.  A good reason not to get the guard involved.  We don't want to start a panic with the citizenry."  He sighed in frustration and crossed his arms.  "It's not normal rituals either.  I've seen some of the crime scenes.  Whoever is doing this is invoking some very high level powers in their rituals."

Lina's eyes widened in shock.  She whispered a name.  "Shabranigdo?"

Zelgadis spat on the ground in disgust.  "That's about right.  As you probably know, blood magic involves using the life force of an innocent to appeal for some boon from a dark power.  Usually, it's some minor demon like Mizenda or Seigram.  But sometimes-"

Lina cut him off.  "A powerful mage will try to use a higher up.  Someone like the Hellmaster or the Dark Lord himself.  But that doesn't really make any sense.  It's pretty dangerous to call upon the major powers like that.  For example, about a decade ago there was a priest by the name of Halciform who desired immortality-"

Now it was Zelgadis's turn to interrupt.  "And called upon the power of Hellmaster.  He killed twenty-eight before the ritual was over.  He ended up a living pile of entrails if I recall correctly."

Lina nodded.  "That's right.  Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy."

Lina and Zelgadis grinned at each other despite the dark subject matter and their personal dislike of one another.  It was refreshing for both of them to be able to hold an intelligent conversation without having to explain everything to the other party.

Lina thought for a moment.  "Alright then.  It's safe to assume that whoever is doing this is a fairly powerful individual."

"And cautious.  Nobody's seen anyone suspicious at any of the crime scenes."

"Something's bothering me Zel.  You say that this guy works at random, right?"

Zelgadis nodded.  "That's right.  There's been no discernable pattern since the killings began.  It's like he takes them on a whim."

"But that wouldn't make any sense.  For a ritual calling upon a higher power, you'd have to do most of your killing in one place to focus the energy.  And he's been committing murders all around the city."

Zelgadis trembled momentarily.  He muttered, "Maybe that is the focus."

"What's that, Zel?"

Zelgadis looked at her with a worried expression on his face.  "The city."

Lina quickly shook her head.  "No Zel.  That can't be right.  It would take hundreds of people to channel power into such a large area."

"That's just it, Lina.  Sairaag isn't safe.  It's never been safe.  People disappear all the time.  Maybe the killer's already done most of his work and the more noticeable killings are being done to finish the ritual."  Zelgadis's ears twitched as he heard footsteps behind them.  He glanced over his shoulder and muttered, "Damn it.  I'll see you later Lina."

"What's wrong?"  Lina glanced over at where Zelgadis had been a moment before, but he was already gone.  She whirled around to see two figures watching her from the shadows of the alley.  "What do you want?"

The two figures moved cautiously towards Lina.  "You're a Slayer?" one asked.

Lina placed her hand on the hilt of her sword.  "Yeah, that's right.  Who's asking?"

One of the figures flung back the hood of her cloak to reveal a female face framed by a wild mane of purple hair.  "Surely you've heard of the two greatest Slayers in Sairaag, Mimi and her sister Nene."  The other woman threw back the hood of her cloak to reveal a face identical to the first.

Lina muttered, "Oh hell."  She took a cautious step back.  "I can't say that I have.  Sorry."  She forced a laugh and continued her slow retreat.  "Well, it's getting pretty late.  Nice to have met you and all that.  Goodbye."

Undeterred, the sisters advanced on Lina. 

Nene pulled a short staff from under her cloak.  Both ends were sharpened and she twirled it with the skill of a master.  "You know the church's policy on rogue Slayers?"

Lina sighed deeply and drew her sword.  "Yeah, yeah.  Leave the service of the church and face a death sentence.  Can't have your dirty little secret getting out, right?"

Before she had died, Luna had told Lina that it was forbidden to teach the skills of a Slayer to an outsider.  Rogue Slayers were considered to be a danger to the secrecy of the Eternal Twilight and were supposed to be put to death on sight.  Despite this decree, Luna couldn't stand the idea of her only sister being defenseless and had taught Lina everything that she knew.

Mimi unhooked a folding fan trimmed in silver from her belt.  "What we do, we do for the good of the people."

Lina snorted.  "Lying to them you mean.  I'm sure that the people really appreciate all that you do for them when they become some monster's snack."  She assumed a defensive stance and made one last attempt to avoid violence.  "Listen, we do the same work and I'd hate to have to kill you."  She put on what she hoped was a magnanimous smile.  "So, why don't you girls walk away and forget that you ever saw me?"

Nene darted to Lina's left, obviously intending to flank her.  She thrust at Lina's abdomen with the point of her staff.

Lina casually batted the blow aside with the flat side of her blade.  "Does that mean no?" she asked with a playful grin.  She lunged forward and punched Nene in the face with her left hand.  She tried to avoid feeling satisfied as she felt bone splinter under her knuckles.  She muttered, "That's one" as she watched the woman crumble to the ground unconscious.

Mimi's fan was a blur of silver as she struck at Lina.  Her blow cut through cloth and drew a thin line of blood across Lina's back.

Lina gasped in pain and quickly parried a second strike aimed at her neck.  Mimi was obviously a little more skilled than her sister.  She snarled, "You're pretty good when you're hitting someone from behind."  She made a couple of quick slashes, intending to disarm Mimi.  Unlike these two, she had no intention of killing fellow Slayers.

Mimi deflected these strikes with ease and continued her assault.  Somewhere in midst of the melee she pulled out a second fan and began to attack with that as well.

Lina was hard pressed to keep up with her attacker.  She fought off a wave of dizziness as she deflected Mimi's strikes.  Was she really losing that much blood?  Or was there some poison on the fan?  Either way, she was in trouble.  She yelped in pain as another of Mimi's strikes got through her defenses.  Now she was bleeding from the left thigh. She'd have to end this quickly.  She feinted low, forcing Mimi's fans down.  A quick flick of her sword and Mimi was suddenly missing a couple of fingers on her left hand.

Mimi watched in horror as the fan fell from her maimed hand.  She turned her uncomprehending gaze upon Lina and mouthed a simple question.  "How?"

"Sorry about this."  Lina gritted her teeth and swung the hilt of her sword into the side of Mimi's head with a sickening crunch.

Mimi collapsed in a heap next to her sister.

Lina struggled to catch her breath as she turned from her fallen opponents and made her way up the alley.  She tried to sheath her sword, but found it to be far too heavy to lift.  Somehow, it had become a hundred pounds heavier in the last couple moments.  Deciding that it wasn't worth the effort, she just let it fall from her grasp.

The sword clattered loudly as it came to rest on the alley floor.  The full moon was reflected in the highly polished blade.

Lina noted with interest that the moon was blood red.  Or was it just blood on the sword?  She briefly considered looking up to see, but decided that it wasn't really that important.  She abandoned her weapon and continued up the alley, leaning heavily on the wall for support.  If she passed out here, she would bleed to death for sure.  She had to make it to the street.  It wasn't much further.  Ten feet maybe?  It was hard to tell.  Everything was getting blurry.  With a last effort, Lina flung herself into the lane landing in front of a passerby.  She looked up and tried to reach out to her potential savior.  "Please… help…" The last of her strength spent, she slipped into merciful unconsciousness.

Sylphiel Nels Lahda had been on her way home from feeding the homeless at the shelter when the bloody girl had stumbled out of the alley.  She put her hand to her mouth and whispered, "Oh my."  The girl lying in the street before her was in bad shape.  She bent down and gingerly slung the smaller woman's arm over her shoulder and lifted her up.  Thankfully, she was even lighter than she looked.  Sparing a quick look down the alley to see if there was any immediate danger, Sylphiel quickly moved down the street towards her house.  The young lady needed help immediately.

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Something moved in the passageway with the two fallen Slayers.  The giggle of a child, horribly out of place amidst the carnage of the alley, split the night.

"My, my.  Isn't this intriguing?"  Phibrizzo stepped out of the shadows with a wicked grin on his face.  "Tonight must be my lucky night.  Two for the price of one."  He gazed down, almost lovingly, at the two unconscious women before him.  He kicked one of them roughly, rolling her onto her back.

A medallion of Ceiphied glinted defiantly up at Phibrizzo from around Mimi's neck.

Phibrizzo recoiled in utter revulsion for a moment.  He muttered, "Well that certainly won't do."  Something dark flickered behind his eyes for a moment and the medallion began to glow bright red. 

A moment later, liquid metal rolled down Mimi's neck, scalding her.  She moaned in pain.

Phibrizzo laughed.  "That's much better!"  He pulled a rusty blade from his pocket and smiled at the two unconscious women.  "Well ladies, I don't have all night.  Let's get to work, shall we?"  And he did.

Standing atop a nearby chimney, Xellos gazed down into the alley, unseen by Phibrizzo.  He watched the childlike monster work his perverse magic with an inscrutable expression on his face.  He glanced up at the blood red moon and frowned.  The hour was growing late and they would soon be out of time.

A sudden gust of wind roared through the alley and the Hellmaster, now elbow deep in Mimi's entrails, looked up at a chimney across the street.  He had felt something, but…  Shrugging, he went back to weaving his tapestry of blood.

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Next Chapter:  Tales of dead men and crimson skies

Notes:  Wow.  I'm really on a hot streak right now.  I've actually gotten three more chapters done in the last 3 days.  But you don't get them yet.  Sorry, I'm trying to pace myself a little here.  So, please don't hurt me if I don't consistently update every two days, alright?

Anyone else like Phibrizzo?  He's been a lot of fun to write.  I wanted to make the villains in this story really nasty and I hope that it's coming off well.

Reviewer Response:

Miss Gabriev, you dug Xellos, huh?  Sorry for the short appearance in this chapter, but I promise that he'll have an extended scene in the chapter after next.  Said scene was easily one of my favorites to write so far, so I hope you like it.

Pogo, Amelia falling off the high wire?  I can't do that!  I need her for the rest of the story!  And the Gaav thing was a really impressive bit of inspiration.  I was struggling to find someone that could reasonably intimidate Zangulus as captain of the guard.  It was actually the trench coat that made me think of Gaav.

Zaber, Xellos a Mazoku?  I'm afraid that I have no idea what you are talking about.  He's simply Xellos, mysterious priest!

CT, why does everyone think that Xellos is a Mazoku?  As I told Zaber, he's a mysterious priest.  And of course a priest would be writing sermons!  Jeez, you guys talk like Xellos isn't normal or something…

Thanks for the encouragement Slayers Otaku-Girl.  I intend to do just that.

Thanks for reading!