The ballroom erupted into chaos after Jillas lit his fuses. Nobody was really sure what was going on, but most had sense enough to understand that it wasn't good. People were climbing over one another to get to the exits and several unlucky guests were being trampled in the process.
Lina watched the sparks race along the ceiling, a look of understanding slowly dawning on her face. "Powder," she whispered to herself. "It's black powder!" she repeated more loudly. She turned and grabbed the front of Gourry's shirt. She shrieked, "Do you have any idea what this means?!" while violently shaking him by his collar.
Gourry gave Lina a pained grin and hazarded a guess. "Um, it's not good, right?"
"That's right, bait for brains!" Lina released her hold on Gourry's shirt and pointed up at the four sparking fuses. "We have to stop them!" Not wasting another moment, she nimbly leapt up onto one of the long serving tables and snatched up a carving knife.
"How are we supposed to do that?!" Gourry yelled over the din of the chamber.
"Cut them!" Lina shouted back to the swordsman. She quickly snatched up another knife and tossed it to Eris. "Here! You get that one!" she instructed, pointing at the far side of the room. Without waiting to see if her command was obeyed, she turned and ran down the table, deftly avoiding plates of food and the occasional partygoer.
Eris scowled darkly and quickly reversed her grip on the knife so that she was holding the blade. "Sister of Luna," she hissed, making the statement sound like a curse. A cruel grin on her face, she reared back, meaning to fling the blade into Lina's exposed back.
Rezo grabbed Eris's wrist just before she released the knife. He shook his head and quietly said, "Do as she says." Noting her look of displeasure, he added, "There will be plenty of time to bury her later."
Jillas snarled, "Oh no ye don't!" when he saw what Lina intended to do. Quickly reaching into his tattered cloak, he withdrew a small bomb and lit the fuse. Cackling, he then tossed it in the Slayer's direction. "Die!"
Gourry called Lina's name as his hand instinctively flew to the hilt of the Sword of Light. "Light come forth!" he yelled and the ballroom was instantly bathed in a golden glow, causing the panicking people to pause just for a moment to marvel at this miracle.
Lina looked up just in time to see the Sword of Light go sailing mere inches over her head to neatly bisect the bomb in midair. She paused momentarily, all thoughts of the stopping the bomb temporarily forgotten, as black powder rained harmlessly down upon her. Amidst the powder were several red hairs; evidence of just how close the sword had come to her. "Gourry…" she whispered as she turned to look at the swordsman.
"Are you okay?" Gourry mouthed silently.
Taking a deep breath, Lina jumped up and down yelling, "What the hell do you think you're doing?! You could've killed me! When I get my hands on you…"
Gourry grinned and tuned out the rest of Lina's diatribe. She was fine. His duty as her protector temporarily fulfilled, he turned back to his original task of disabling the larger bomb. Normally the most considerate of people, he was forced to bodily toss people aside in his slow trek towards the fuse. His sharp eyes followed the burning cord down the wall to its terminus, a large unmarked barrel. "That's it," he muttered to himself, easily flinging a particularly large man out of his way. "Okay," he muttered as he stood before the barrel. "Now I've just got to…" His hand strayed to his belt where his sword was no longer hanging. "Damn it!"
Unnoticed by all, Rezo stood, shocked by what he had just witnessed. "The Sword of Light," he whispered in disbelief. Surprise quickly gave way to fury as he glared at Gourry. The sword had been stolen from the Slayers a few weeks ago and here was the thief. Was there a single honest soul at this gathering? It appeared that everyone had stolen from him, betrayed him, or wanted to kill him.
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Zelgadis and Amelia were already at the door when the insanity broke out.
"What the hell?" Zelgadis whispered to himself as he watched Jillas's little tirade and subsequent ignition. Feeling a chill run down his spine, he reluctantly moved his eyes from the ceiling to the floor. Amidst the chaos, Rezo stood impassively, staring at him with a look of intense hatred on his face.
"Shouldn't we help them?" Amelia asked, tugging on Zelgadis's sleeve to get his attention. "Mister Zelgadis?"
Zelgadis looked as Amelia, startled by her words. "W-What did you say?"
"We have to help them!" Amelia repeated insistently. What was wrong with Zelgadis anyway? He seemed to be in some sort of daze. She saw him tremble and realized that he was afraid. Something had terrified him to the point of helplessness. Seeing that scared her. "What's wrong with you?!" she demanded, trying to shake some sense into him.
Cold sweat running down his face, Zelgadis looked at Amelia for a moment before turning his attention back to Rezo. The priest hadn't moved a muscle. His dark glare was still fixed on Zelgadis, making him cringe. His father thought that this was his doing, he realized in a moment of horrible rationality. Shaking his head hopelessly, he tried to soundlessly convey to Rezo the idea that this wasn't his fault.
Amelia looked at Zelgadis and then at Rezo, sensing that there was something happening between them. Realizing that Zelgadis was somehow ensnared by Rezo's gaze, she decided that she'd have to help Miss Lina on her own.
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"Thank Ceiphied," Lina whispered to herself as she vaulted off the end of the table and over the heads of several people. A sharp pain shot through the leg that she'd injured the previous night, but thankfully it persisted for only an instant. She landed gracefully atop the keg that was her target and immediately began to saw at the fuse. "C'mon, c'mon!" she muttered as she worked. Her eyes darted upwards to track the progress of the flame. So close. A few more feet and…
Lina shouted, "Got it!" as she hewed through the last few fibers of rope. Without wasting an instant, she leaned back, allowing herself to fall from her perch on top of the barrel. As she fell, her foot lashed out to knock the keg away from the guttering remains of the fuse. It would only take one stray spark, she thought as she hit the cold floor. One spark and all of these people would die.
Thankfully, that didn't happen. Lina sighed in relief as she glanced around the room at the progress of the others. Eris had dealt with her barrel, with a lot more time to spare than Lina had, she noted feeling a bit jealous. Amelia had gotten the one that she'd missed. Thank Ceiphied for that. She didn't think that there would be time for her to get two of them. And the last…
"Gourry!" Lina yelled, feeling sick to her stomach. Gourry hadn't had his sword. There'd been no way for him to cut the cord. She watched in horror as the swordsman ran, the last barrel slung up on his shoulder. There was no time to help him, she realized. A few more moments and he'd quite literally be at the end of his rope.
The building was safe though. The last keg wouldn't be enough to bring it down, so hundreds of lives would be saved. Lina tried to take comfort in that knowledge, but found herself thinking of one thing only.
"That little bastard," Lina hissed as she picked herself up off the ground. She glared up at Jillas, still comfortably situated on his perch above the insanity in the room below. People had been hurt because of him. Gourry was going to die because of him. "Hey!" she bellowed.
"Ye broke me bom's!" Jillas yelled back, shaking his fist at Lina in anger. "I'll ne'er forgive ye!" His other hand slipped into his cloak again, no doubt meaning to find another explosive device to hurl at Lina.
Just then, the explosion rocked the room. The chain supporting the chandelier groaned and then gave way. Jillas's weight coupled with the shockwave was too much for it to bear. It came crashing down in a colossal jumble of brass and wax in the middle of the floor.
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"Now, you're mine!" Eris hissed as she effortlessly maneuvered through the last of the crowd towards Lina's back. Lina was facedown on the floor. How to do this? She could cut the redhead's throat, but that would be too quick and painless. A quick jab to the kidney? That'd hurt, but would it really be satisfying? Snickering evilly, she said, "Well, I'll just have to gut you then."
"Eris? I need your assistance."
Eris looked up to see Rezo standing a few feet away. "Can I have a moment, love? I've got business to deal with."
Rezo shook his head. "Now, Eris. We can't be sure that the intruder doesn't have any other tricks. Fetch my carriage and meet me around back."
"But…"
Scowling, Rezo said, "Have you forgotten your duty? Would you risk my life and the well being of the empire just to settle a personal debt?" Ignoring Eris's scowl, he turned and quickly made his way towards the back door.
Sparing Lina one last glare, Eris muttered, "As you command, love," and turned to do as she had been instructed.
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A ghostly figure clad in a white cloak and hood moved down the alley, not seeming to walk as much as drift on the breeze. Footfalls that should have made noise in the rubbish of the alley fell silently, leaving no indication of the figure's passing.
Coming to a trussed up woman lying on the ground, the figure cocked its head thoughtfully, before kneeling beside her. "You've had an eventful day, haven't you?" an icy voice mused.
The woman jumped a bit, surprised at the sound of apparition's voice. How had he gotten so close without her knowing? She quickly decided that it didn't matter and immediately began to call for help through the gag that psychotic redhead had stuffed in her mouth.
With an enigmatic smile, the figure laid a finger across his lips, indicating that the woman should be silent for a moment. Pointedly ignoring her continued protests, he began to rummage through a pile of clothes hastily stashed beside the woman. A cape, a burgundy blouse with matching tights, and…
Pale hands snaked out from under the white cloak and plucked an elaborate sword from the ground. Removing the decorative sheath and casually casting it aside like so much rubbish, the figure traced the decorative letters engraved in the blade with a fingertip. "Lina," the voice whispered thoughtfully.
The woman watched the cloaked form for a moment longer before yelling in muffled tones again. A moment later, the gag was roughly snatched from her mouth. "It's about time!" she yelled indignantly. "Now untie me and-" She was rudely interrupted when the point of Lina's sword was suddenly pressed against her throat. "W-What are you doing?" she whispered, her eyes wide in fear. There was an instant of painful pressure as the blade slid through the soft flesh of her neck and then all was darkness.
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Lina shakily climbed to her feet yet again. Black smoke stung her eyes, causing tears to well up within them. She quickly glanced over at the doorway where she'd last seen Gourry and immediately wished that she hadn't. A scrap of blue cloth, part of Gourry's shirt, drifted down towards her. The tears, barely kept in check before, spilled down her face as she hopelessly called Gourry's name.
"Blimey, I've got such a 'eadache!" Jillas muttered to himself as he staggered out of the remains of the chandelier. He winced as he gingerly rubbed his forehead. It had been split open on a jagged piece of brass, but was already healing. In a moment, all that remained of the wound was a bit of drying blood. "Tha's betta'!" he said with a grin.
"You killed Gourry!" Lina half sobbed, half snarled at Jillas.
Jillas squinted in Lina's direction for a moment, trying to discern her identity through the acrid smoke. "Ye ruined m' plan!" he growled as she came into clear view.
"You killed Gourry!" Lina shrieked again. After a moment, she added, "And I still can't understand a word you're saying!"
"Ye busted m' bom's!" Jillas said, pointing at Lina accusingly. "I'll get ye fer this!"
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Lina yelled. She snatched her knife up from the stone floor and darted at Jillas. "Murderer!" she snarled as she drove the blade into his belly. Hot blood coursed over her hands, making her feel a little better.
Jillas grunted from the impact. "Damn i' t'all," he muttered to himself as he felt Lina's blade slide into his guts. Grabbing her by the throat he yelped, "That 'urt, ye littl' witch!" before shoving her away.
Lina sprawled out on the floor and watched as Jillas pulled the knife free of his stomach and tossed it aside.
"Silly girl! Ye canna' kill a memba' o' the fox tribe like that!" Jillas said with a triumphant laugh as his wound closed.
A soot blackened Amelia knelt down beside Lina. "Miss Lina? Are you alright?" She asked as she took Lina's arm to help her up. Seeing Lina's tears, she frowned. "Are you hurt?"
Shaking her head angrily, Lina shrugged Amelia off. Her foe wasn't human. That was for sure. It didn't take much effort to figure out what he was. Animalistic features and a somewhat primitive speech pattern punctuated by barks and yips? He was a shape changer, without a doubt.
"I'm not done with you yet!" Lina called out to Jillas while glancing around at her surroundings. There had to be something that she could use. Her face lit up when she saw a bunch of silverware strewn about on the floor. "Ah!"
"Uh, Miss Lina?" Amelia hesitantly said as she watched her friend snatch up a salad fork.
"Alright!" Lina yelled, holding her newfound weapon aloft triumphantly. "Let's see if you can handle this, buddy!" She briefly wondered if silverware was actually made of silver. After all, she and Luna had never owned any. They'd been lucky to have plates to eat off of. Hell, the name had to come from somewhere though, right?
Jillas looked at Lina as if she had gone quite mad. Then he made the connection. "Ye know m' secret. Ye one o' them Slaya's aincha?" He growled and crouched down defensively.
"That's right!" Lina said, brandishing her fork threateningly. "Let's see you heal up from this!" She lunged at Jillas, jabbing at him with her makeshift weapon. "You like that?!" she yelled.
Coughing and sputtering, Zelgadis and Gourry staggered out of the smoke leaning on one another for support. They were a little singed, but otherwise appeared to be unharmed. They both stopped and stared at the bizarre sight before them, wide eyed.
"Zel?" Gourry said quietly, a hint of fear in his voice.
"Yeah?"
"Is Lina going after that guy with a fork?"
Zelgadis nodded slowly. "Um, yeah. Yeah, she is."
Gourry sighed. "That's what I thought she was doing." Taking a hesitant step towards the Slayer, he called out, "Hey Lina…"
Lina looked up from her position on the back of a loudly protesting Jillas. She gasped in shock and whispered, "Gourry?" hardly daring to believe her eyes.
Before Lina had a chance to utter another word, Jillas roughly shrugged her off his back. "Git offa me!" he yelped. "Ye loon!" He quickly scampered on all fours under a nearby table. A moment later, a small bomb came rolling out towards Lina and the others.
"Down!" Lina shrieked as she tackled Amelia. Instead of a violent explosion, the immediate area was suddenly filled with opaque smoke. She heard Jillas cackling in the gray cloud and slammed her fist down on the floor. "He's making a fool of me!"
"Tha's right, ye stumpy littl' idjit!" Jillas's mocking laughter echoed through the chamber.
"Stumpy little idiot?" Amelia repeated thoughtfully. "He's making this personal, isn't he?"
"You can understand him?!" Lina asked, staring at Amelia in shock.
"Well, yeah." Amelia replied with a shrug. "You pick up a bunch of different accents traveling around as much as I do. He sounds like he's from a region in the south that I visited a little while-"
"Okay!" Lina yelled, cutting Amelia off. "This is no time for a geography lesson! He's getting away!" She leapt to her feet and darted into the smoke, followed closely by her companions. She spared a quick glance over her shoulder and called Gourry's name.
"Yeah Lina?" Gourry replied, easily keeping pace with the redhead. He leaned down and scooped the Sword of Light off the floor without breaking his stride.
"How'd you get rid of that bomb?" Lina asked, relief flooding through her at seeing the swordsman intact.
"Oh, that was easy. I took it outside and tossed it in a carriage. I don't think that anybody got hurt."
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Rezo stared at the still smoldering remains of his lavish coach with an inscrutable expression on his face. Sighing sadly he bent down and picked up what looked like a charred length of wood. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that there was a twisted horseshoe nailed to one end. "Charger," he whispered, shaking his head ruefully. Charger had been a good horse.
Eris stood next to the High Priest, wondering if she should say anything. Trying not to draw his attention, she nudged what she thought was the horse's head into a nearby bush with her foot.
Casting the charred portion of Charger's foreleg aside, Rezo turned to Eris. "Truly we are dealing with a cunning and diabolical assassin."
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Jillas burst out the front door, leaving a trail of smoke in his wake. A moment later, he'd leapt down the stairs running right past a startled guard. "'ere, 'old this!" he yipped, shoving a bomb into the guard's hands. "So long, ye idjits!" He nimbly jumped into the seat of his cart and snatched up the reins yelling, "Git!" to spur the horse into a run.
"Throw it, stupid!" Lina commanded the guard as she and the others flew out of the building in hot pursuit.
Not having the slightest clue of what to make of the situation, the guard nodded dumbly and lobbed the sparking explosive in Lina's general direction.
"Idiot!" Lina shrieked, her eyes as big as saucers. "Not to me!"
Gourry quickly shoved Lina aside and in the blink of an eye, the bomb was neatly divided into thirds. Sheathing the Sword of Light again, he leapt forward, barely catching onto the back of Jillas's cart as the would be assassin made his escape.
"Mister Zelgadis, look!" Amelia yelled while pointing at a tall white horse. Standing beside the large animal, Tarimu was fruitlessly trying to mount it.
"Perfect!" Zelgadis said with a smile. He wrapped an arm around Amelia's waist and effortlessly leapt over Tarimu's head and into the saddle. "Excuse me," he said to his shocked rival just before kicking him in the face. A moment later, he and Amelia practically flew out the gate in pursuit of Jillas's cart.
"Hey! What about me?!" Lina yelled indignantly. A moment later, she was alone in the courtyard, bereft of both horse and hope of finding one. Apparently, the other guests had already made their escapes. "No horse…" she muttered hopelessly.
A voice called out to Lina from the shadows. "Miss? I saw the whole thing." An old man stepped into the moonlight leading an equally old looking horse. "I reckon you kin borrow ol' Gunpowder here if you're so inclined."
Lina grinned. "Hey, thanks a bunch!" She quickly ran over to the man and grabbed the reins. Noting that the old man didn't let go, she muttered, "What gives?"
Grinning toothlessly, he said, "Well, you don't really expect me to let you have him fer free, do you?"
Glaring at the man suspiciously, Lina asked, "How much?"
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Gourry gritted his teeth as he struggled to pull himself up into the cart. His knees were scraping against the cobblestones and it was a little unpleasant to say the least. He grunted softly as a particularly large stone cut a long gash in his right shin.
Jillas's ears twitched as if he had heard Gourry's small noise over the sound of the horse's hooves striking the street below. He turned to see the swordsman halfway over the back of the cart. "Doncha know when ta give up?!" After snapping the reins one last time to keep the horse moving at top speed, he turned and climbed over the seat into the back of the cart. "No stowaways!" he yipped as he stomped on the swordsman's fingers.
His fingers went numb as Jillas ground his boot into them and Gourry lost his grip on the wagon. By some miracle, he was saved from a potentially lethal spill into the street when his tattered shirt snagged on the bottom corner of the cart. It held for only a moment, but it was all the opportunity he needed to renew his grip on the wood. He was still alive, if only for a little longer.
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"Twenty?!" Lina shrieked. "Are you senile?!" She turned and poked Gunpowder in his decidedly pronounced ribs. "Take a look at him! He'll probably snap in two if I try to ride him! I'll give you five!"
The old man spat a wad of chewing tobacco into the grass near his feet. "Well, I reckon if you've got some other way to catch up to your friends, you don't need old Gunpowder do you?"
Lina growled threateningly and reluctantly said, "Ten."
"Beggin' your pardon Miss, but beggars can't be choosers."
"Fifteen."
He yawned in response.
"You're trying to rob me!" Lina yelled, tugging at her crimson hair in frustration. She frantically pointed at the gate while hopping up and down and exclaimed, "Don't you understand that the bad guy is getting away?!"
The man watched Lina with a look of boredom on his face.
Lina reached into her pocket and fished around for some change. "Fine," she hissed, "but see if I ever help you if you're being munched on by some beast."
"I think that I'll live," he replied with an infuriating grin on his face.
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Jillas growled, "Tenacious littl' bugger, aincha?" as he reached into his cloak. A moment later, he withdrew his pistol and leveled it at Gourry's forehead. "An' now, ye die!"
"Mister Gourry!"
Gourry glanced over his shoulder to see Amelia and Zelgadis gaining on the cart. Amelia was standing precariously on Zelgadis's shoulders. The minister had an incredibly pained expression on his face.
"You could have at least taken your heels off!" Zelgadis yelled up to Amelia.
Amelia frowned apologetically and crouched down, preparing to spring.
"What are you doing?!" Gourry yelled.
Zelgadis shrugged, almost knocking Amelia off his shoulders. After that near disaster, he had a grimace plastered on his face and made an effort to hold perfectly still. It was quite a task when one considered that he had to keep the horse going as well. It didn't become any easier when Amelia's skirt dropped over his face. "Amelia, I can't see!" his muffled voice protested.
"Sorry, Mister Zelgadis!" Amelia yelled.
His one good eye wide, Jillas stared at Amelia, his plan to shoot Gourry temporarily forgotten. "Wha' th' 'ell?" he muttered curiously.
"Mister Gourry, I'm going to help you!" the acrobat called out while giving the swordsman an enthusiastic thumbs up.
"No! That's okay!" Gourry yelled, shaking his head emphatically. "I'm fine, really!" He made an earnest effort to look excited about the idea of being dragged from the back of a runaway cart. His grin faded as Amelia sprang forward. "Oh no."
Smiling confidently, Amelia flipped in midair intending to land in the cart behind Jillas. Things didn't go quite as planned as she failed to take into consideration the effect that several yards of fabric would have on her maneuverability. Her dress billowed out, slowing her forward momentum and she ended up landing on the small of Gourry's back.
"Ow!" Gourry yelled as he felt Amelia's shoes painfully dig into his spine. "You call this helping?!" With the acrobat's added weight it felt as if his arms were about to pop out of their sockets. To say nothing of the fact that she was pressing his legs firmly against the street. Every bit of fabric below mid thigh was gone and he was now losing valuable layers of skin.
Jillas stared at Amelia, his mouth agape. "Ye nuts are crazier n' me!"
"Ooh! Sorry! Sorry!" Amelia fretted, her hands fluttering about her face uselessly. Thinking that somehow it would make things a little better at least, she reached down and patted Gourry on the shoulder reassuringly.
Gourry shook his head and yelled, "Don't be sorry! Get off me!"
Muttering a stream of curses under his breath, Zelgadis spurred his horse on until he was riding beside the cart. He turned, meaning to leap onto Jillas and put an end to this nonsense, but instead found himself looking down the barrel of a pistol.
"Gotcha!" Jillas yipped as he pulled the trigger.
There was a loud bang and Zelgadis was flung violently from the saddle, a fan of blood briefly visible in the pale moonlight. Then he fell limply to the street and briefly rolled along the stones before coming to rest in a heap.
"Mister Zelgadis!" Amelia shrieked as she watched the still form disappear into the darkness behind the cart.
"Ye'll be joinin' 'im inna second!" Jillas informed the acrobat as he set about the complicated task of reloading his pistol.
A hate filled expression flashed across Amelia's face as she pushed off Gourry's back, launching herself into the cart. She slammed into Jillas shoulder first, knocking his weapon from his hand. The pistol landed on the edge of the cart and briefly teetered there before falling into the street.
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Zelgadis dragged himself painfully to his feet, clutching at the large hole in his shoulder. As he began to limp in the direction of Jillas's cart, he muttered, "This always happens to me. Lina picks a fight with a demon. Is she the one that gets turned into a pincushion? No. Gourry gets dragged for a couple miles at gunpoint, but does he get shot? Oh no, not Gourry!" He shook a fist and indignantly yelled, "You couldn't shoot the stationary target, could you?!"
His wounds slowly beginning to close, Zelgadis felt the thirst begin to burn at the back of his throat. This wasn't the nagging that he was used to ignoring or sating with rodents. This was a need.
As he wrestled with his desire, Zelgadis slowly became aware of the slow and steady sound of hooves on the stones approaching. He looked up to see an extremely irate looking Lina sitting astride a gangly looking thing that he assumed was a horse.
Lina looked Zelgadis over, noting his tattered and bloody clothing. Numerous scratches marred his skin and blood flowed freely down his left arm. "So, what the hell happened to you?"
Zelgadis opened his mouth and was about to make a scathing remark when it happened. His senses were overwhelmed by the presence of prey. He shuddered, feeling his last vestiges of self-control slip away. Unconsciously growling, he advanced on Lina threateningly.
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Eris sat opposite Rezo in their newly acquired coach. They'd been traveling about the midnight streets, moving at random in case the assassin decided to make another attempt on their lives. The guards were investigating the explosion and thoroughly combing the building for any other signs of danger before they would allow the High Priest to return. It would be dawn before they would have an opportunity to visit their quarters.
"Something vexes you, my love?" Eris cautiously ventured as she watched the High Priest. He'd been silent since they had entered the coach, staring out the window with an inscrutable expression on his face. His fingers drummed on the bench beside him, the surest indicator that something was very wrong. He wasn't usually prone to nervous habits like that.
"I want them dead."
Nodding, Eris said, "Of course. I'll bring you the assassin's head on a platter."
Shaking his head irritably, Rezo tersely said, "The assassin means nothing. There have been assassins before and they have always failed. I want the others dead. The Inverse woman, her blond companion, my son, and the other girl." He resumed his drumming on the bench and whispered more to himself than Eris, "Amelia."
Eris cocked her head inquisitively. "That girl you danced with? She's the one that's bothering you? More than the rogue, the one who stole the Sword of Light, or your treacherous son?"
Rezo smiled darkly. "The others are annoyances, nothing more, nothing less. Amelia on the other hand… She's a threat."
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"Zel! Don't you dare!" Lina yelled. Her hand flew to the pocket in her cloak where she concealed a wooden stake. Unfortunately, she wasn't wearing her cloak, and the waitress uniform had few places to conceal a weapon.
Then it was too late. Lina was viciously flung from the saddle. She landed on her back in the street and before she could react, Zelgadis's fangs sank into his prey's throat.
Lina shuddered involuntarily as she watched Zelgadis bring down Gunpowder. No matter how many times she witnessed a vampire taking some victim it never got any easier to watch. Then reality began to sink in. "Zel…" she whispered, a bit tentatively at first. He either didn't hear her or chose to ignore her. It was impossible to tell. "Zelgadis!" she yelled, throwing caution to the wind as she pounced on his back and tried to pry him off her fallen steed. "That horse cost me twenty gold pieces! Let him go!"
A few moments later, Zelgadis tore himself away from the twitching body with a gasp of relief. He ran his tongue across the fronts of his teeth in a greedy attempt to get every last bit of blood. As usual, the thirst receded; not really satisfied, but fulfilled for the time being. "Lina?" he muttered, noticing for the first time that the redhead had her arms around his neck.
"You killed my horse," Lina hissed into Zelgadis's ear. "That thing cost me…" She hesitated for a moment before saying, "Thirty gold pieces!"
"You got ripped off," Zelgadis muttered, easily standing despite the fact that Lina was still tenaciously clinging to his back.
"I want my money!" Lina yelled. "And you ate my transportation! We'll never catch up to Gourry and Amelia now!"
Zelgadis shook his head irritably and held up a hand. "Shush, Lina. I'm trying to think." He cocked his head to the side, listening for some sound on the midnight breeze. "That way," he said after a moment, suddenly darting off to the left.
Lina almost lost her grip when Zelgadis took off. She quickly secured her legs around his waist and tightened her grip on his neck. "What are you doing?!" she yelled, seeing that he was heading straight for a brick wall.
"Shortcut," Zelgadis snapped, putting on even more speed as he spoke. "We've got to make up some ground and I can't outrun a horse."
Squeezing her eyes shut, Lina braced for impact, only to feel weightless a moment later. Hesitantly she opened one eye and gasped in shock to find that they were now on the rooftop. "Zel, that was three stories," she whispered in awe.
"That's right."
"What are you?" Lina said, shaking her head in disbelief. "You're nothing like any vampire that I've ever seen."
Zelgadis flashed Lina a threatening grin, exposing his pointed fangs. "I'm nothing to be trifled with."
Lina snorted derisively, refusing to be intimidated by Zelgadis's display. A confident grin on her own face, she said, "Whatever. You still owe me forty gold pieces."
"I thought it was thirty?!" Zelgadis snarled as he sailed effortlessly over a wide gap between two rooftops.
"Yeah, well you should have thought of that before you turned my horse into a lunch special!" Lina snarled right back at him. "Besides, it's not like you can't afford it!" Before Zelgadis had a chance to protest, she dug her heels into his ribs and said, "No more complaining! Hurry up!"
Muttering curses under his breath, Zelgadis did as he was instructed.
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"Doncha know when ta' quit?" Jillas growled as he shoved Amelia, displaying a surprising amount of strength for his small frame. She staggered back and teetered on the edge of the cart, much to his delight.
Grunting in pain, Gourry reached up and firmly shoved Amelia back to safety. He then quickly pulled himself into the cart beside her. As he lay on the floor, he looked himself over with a grimace. His legs were a bloody mess, but it appeared that all the nicks and scratches were fairly superficial.
"You villain!" Amelia yelled while pointing at Jillas, her dress billowing out behind her in a thoroughly dramatic fashion. "I'll have no mercy on you after what you did to Mister Zelgadis!"
"Villain?" Jillias yipped loudly; making a sound that was probably laughter. "Ye be th' one who's th' villain! 'Eaven'll 'ave no mercy fer ye, ye murdurin' servant o' 'Ezo! People like ye killed m' whole fam'ly!"
"Murdering servant of Rezo?" Amelia repeated thoughtfully. "We're not servants of Rezo!" she replied with a vehement shake of her head. "We're Slayers! Protectors of the innocent! Vanquishers of wickedness!"
"Uh, we are?" Gourry asked from his position on the floor at Amelia's feet.
Amelia grinned at the swordsman sheepishly. "Well… I will be after Miss Lina teaches me, at any rate."
At that very moment, the Slayer in question dropped gracefully into the cart on Zelgadis's back. "Hi, everyone!" she said with a cheerful grin. "Did you miss me?"
"You can let go now," Zelgadis muttered darkly as he tried to forcefully remove Lina's arms from around his neck.
"Ye ain't dead?!" Jillas yelled with no small amount of surprise as he stared at Zelgadis.
"Okay, let's get down to business!" Lina yelled. "So… anybody got any silver?"
"Silver? Um, I've got this bracelet," Amelia said helpfully, holding up her wrist for Lina's inspection. "Mister Zelgadis got it for me."
Lina grimaced as she inspected the chain. "Anything else?" she asked without much hope. How were they supposed to kill a shape changer with a damn bracelet? "No? Well, I guess it'll have to do." She quickly unfastened it from Amelia's wrist and turned to face Jillas. "I just hope that Zel didn't buy some cheap silver plated junk."
"Hey," Zelgadis growled indignantly. "I'll have you know that cost me a lot of money."
"Just teasing Zel," Lina said with a wink. She turned back to face their foe and held the bracelet up in what she hoped was a threatening way. It was hard to tell though. She'd never had to attack anyone with jewelry before and she was kind of winging it. "Okay, let's go animal boy."
"Ye know m' secret," Jillas said with a grin. "I guess I'll show ye m' true form, 'en." He knelt down as spasms wracked his body. Tufts of orange fur sprang out of his skin and in a moment he was covered with it. His nose elongated even more than it already was into a snout and his ears lengthened and became pointy, tipped with black fur. There was a ripping sound as a bushy orange tail burst free of his already tattered pants. He cackled and yipped, "See m' power an' dispa' ye idjits!" Their reaction wasn't quite what he had expected.
"He's short," Zelgadis observed with a raised eyebrow. He coughed loudly, covering his mouth with a hand to hide a smile.
Gourry piped up, adding his own scathing comment. "Yeah, he is pretty short. Kinda fuzzy too."
Amelia, a smile on her face, clasped her hands together and giggled. "He's so cute!" she said, utterly dispelling any false notion that Jillas had that he was intimidating.
As for Lina, her face was just as red as her hair by this point. Tears of mirth ran down her cheeks as she covered her mouth in an attempt to hold in her peals of laughter. She dropped to one knee as she was overcome by a fit of giggles.
Jillas's ears flattened against his skull as he growled, "Whacha laughin' at?" his lips curling back to expose needlelike canines. Sadly, in a way even his pointy little teeth were adorable.
Seeing Jillas's supposedly threatening snarl finally pushed Lina over the edge. "I'm sorry!" she managed to squeak between giggles. "I know you're a monster and I should take you seriously, but… Amelia's right! You're so cute!" Finally losing all self-control, she rolled around on the floor of the wagon, her laughter ringing in the poor fox-man's ears.
Jillas trembled in anger as he silently endured his humiliation, his bushy tail thrashing back and forth in an irritated manner. He seemed to shrink in stature a bit as Lina's laughter showed no sign of abating.
"Hey Lina," Gourry interjected a moment later, his voice full of fear. "Who's driving?" He'd just noticed that the horse was still running out of control, frightened by all the activity in the back of the cart. Being an observant man, he was also the first to notice that they were rapidly running out of street. The docks lay before them and the horse showed no signs of slowing. Everyone else quickly picked up on it though.
"Stop the cart!" Lina yelled, all thoughts of laughing at Jillas's appearance dispelled. The sound of hooves striking stone was quickly replaced by the pounding of wood. They had maybe a hundred feet before they reached the ocean.
Jillas looked over his shoulder and yelped in surprise when he saw the peril that they were in. Quickly hopping into the seat he reached for the reins. However, they weren't there anymore. During the chase, the reins had slipped down off the bench and now dragged along the ground, well out of the fox-man's reach. He turned to the others and yelled, "I can't stop 'im!"
Then they were out of time. The horse leapt as they ran out of running room, easily pulling the cart a dozen feet past the end of the dock before they struck water. The black waves greedily swallowed the cart and it's passengers and after a moment, there was nothing left but pale moonlight on the rippling darkness.
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Next Chapter: Hunt the Slayer
Notes: I'll be the first to admit that this chapter doesn't really warrant the "horror" heading. Everyone was cracking bad jokes in this one. Heck, even Rezo got a one-liner in. I just couldn't picture Jillas as a serious villain and he dragged everyone else into his silliness. Hmm, maybe that's what makes him such a diabolical villain… The ability to suck the seriousness out of the plot.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. We'll be getting back to some darker stuff next chapter. Not that there won't be any humor, but it'll be a little more evenly dispersed than it was in this chapter.
Reviewer Response:
Otaku Girl, I can't tell you how much I laughed when I saw you put "VI" up 3 times. I knew that you meant "VIII" (I have the soundtrack too. The waltz is a beautiful piece), but for some reason you can't use redundant letters when you review. You know, "Brrrr!" would be shortened to "Br!" About your story, just toss it up and forget about it for a few days. You'll feel better about it when you go back to check it later.
Miss Gabriev, apparently you weren't the only one that thought Zel had something to do with Jillas's attack. Rezo seemed pretty ticked off too. I don't mind Naga too much or her magic. I happen to like Freeze Arrows, thank you very much. Um, Revival 3 is in the planning stages right now. *points to bio* I try to update the bio every time I post to include stories I'm working on. I'm currently not focused on R3. Instead, I'm doing ET and have seriously started writing another story in the Revival arc. It's a little piece about how Lina fell for Gourry.
Back to school, Dragonet? Sounds fun. Jillas hasn't died yet in what I've written (partly through 28) so I think he might be around for a while. What is the big fuss over Seyruun? Rezo didn't seem happy when Amelia mentioned it, did he?
Pogo, I refuse to talk about the tray anymore. I explained what happened to the tray and you didn't buy it. Thanks for betaing the chapter (even if you did get unhealthily hung up on that tray thing). I'm really glad that you found it amusing. That was incredibly reassuring.
Until next time people!