Left in a Demon's Care – Part 2

Chapter Five: Transforming a Demon's Nature

Finale

Hours must have passed, Xelloss gauged, by the appearance of the slight darkening of the sky. It would be nightfall again, and the horse and Lina would be unable to travel continuously through another night. He had to find shelter, but the next village was miles in the distance, and teleportation was not an option. He heard a noise, triggering his warning system just in time to swing around and catch Lina as she slipped off the horse. She moaned slightly and slumped into the curve of his shoulder. He pressed his lips to her cheek and discovered she was cold, too cold. Her limbs were probably numbed to the bone. Her heart was beating, but she was unable to ride, certainly. His oversight led to this.

"Your load's lighter now, so keep up," he bit off, taking out his anger at himself on the horse. He melted the path before them with a blinding burst of magical energy and set out. "Move or you'll freeze."

He floated Lina in his arms a few miles further, until a glitter of amber light caught his eye. The horse perked up, trotted quicker, and let out a snicker.

"You think someone lives over there? With a horse? Let's go check it out," Xelloss said. Was it less ludicrous talking to animals than to himself, he wondered?

He pounded hard enough on the door to destroy the tumbled down shack, had it been in as bad a condition as appeared. Loose snow fell in piles at his feet as Xelloss brushed off clumps which had collected in folds of Lina's cloak. The door opened revealing first the point of a sword then a grizzled old man aiming his weapon straight for Xelloss' eyes. Ignoring both the man and his dull blade, Xelloss pushed inside.

"Put that down. I won't hurt you. This girl needs help; warmth to start." Xelloss moved quickly towards the fire blazing in the stone fireplace. The old dog lying by the fender leapt to its feet and skittered to the side, whining at the demon.

"Now shush, Buster," the old recluse said to his dog. He studied Xelloss' movements showing more curiosity than fear. "Haven't seen him move that fast since he was a puppy. Er, you want to tell me who you are, to just barge in this way?"

Xelloss nodded slightly. "Sorry, we're just travelers." He rested Lina gently on the rug by the hearth and immediately started unlacing her boots and pulling them off.

"I can see that much. Who are you?" the man asked, his blade hanging forgotten by his side. "Out on the road, in this storm, and this time of night?"

Lina groaned and moved her arms feebly in an attempt to sit up. Xelloss frowned and placed a hand on her shoulder, gently keeping her in place. His mind flagellated itself for failing to care properly for his human charge. He should have heated rocks and had her put them under her cloak, in her gloves, something! His priorities had been wrong. Why hadn't he put Lina first and getting there second? Why hadn't she said anything? Had he broken her spirit to talk back or was she half frozen? "How can I warm her faster?"

"Rub her feet and hands. Get some circulation going. I'll make you some tea. The drink will warm her from the inside. Just give me a bit. Was about to do some reading."

Xelloss tore off her socks and started rubbing one foot then another, the friction gradually restoring color to her toes. He silently vowed to make it up to her. With all his force of mind, he willed her be all right. "Please be okay," he whispered.

The man reached for the kettle hanging over the fire with a mittened hand, then poured three mugs full, and returned to his side, looking Xelloss and Lina over while the tea leaves brewed in the cups. "Scholar? No, priest, you are, eh? Interesting staff."

"Yes." Xelloss reached for the offered mug and, propping Lina's body up, placed the rim to her lips. Her eyelashes fluttered. "Lina, here; take a sip,"

"Not a night to be out, especially with a woman and one so...expectant."

Lina swallowed a mouthful, then another. "You're right, it's not," Xelloss agreed.

"Leave her be now."

Xelloss stopped fussing and tilted his head toward the door. "I have a horse outside."

"She's not going any place," the man said, meaning Lina. "There's a shed around back. Your horse can bunk with my mule."

Xelloss unclasped his cloak, folded it, and slid it under Lina's head, pillowing it off the floor. He jumped effortlessly to his feet, and with a murmured "thanks" he sailed out the door without a second thought.

"Fool kid! Runs out without a jacket even! What good will he be to you, woman, if he freezes to death?"

Lina trembled in response; her eyes remained closed and she was otherwise unresponsive.

Xelloss led the horse to the cozy shed, which was wisely located out of the wind with trees sheltering it. Inside, the resident mule whinnied a greeting and Salez nickered a reply. "That's right. Be friends." Wasting no time, Xelloss dried the horse with a spell, saw to its share of hay, and left. He was gone a total of four minutes.

(o)

"Well, let me tell you both, since neither of you are married yet," Gourry said, slapping his hand soundly on the table. "Love may be blind but marriage is a real eye-opener."

Zelgadiss smiled half-way. "Oh? You have a story to share, I take it?" He waved away the waiter—three beers were enough for a buzz. He didn't want to be wasted, or Valgaav either, whom he discovered had just had his first taste of brew.

"Yeah, one I heard about Martina, remember her? Married Zangalus," Gourry said.

"Do I ever," Zel shook his head as if to shake off the memory.

Valgaav sat closer looking interested.

"Someone from his guard told it to one of my buds..."

"And it goes?" Zel smiled.

Gourry stretched out his legs, throwing back his chair and resting his heels on the seat of the fourth chair. He was enjoying the limelight, a position Lina always monopolized when she had the chance. "So, as it goes, Martina gets out of the bath, wraps a towel around her, and tells Zangalus it's his turn. So he goes in and the doorbell rings. The wife says she'll get the door and goes downstairs. Now, if it was my wife, Sylph would put on some clothes first."

"Martina never had much sense," Zelgadiss said. "Pushy, tasteless, dressed like a tramp," he said for Valgaav's benefit, who had never met her.

"That's her," Gourry agreed with a low rumbling chuckle. "So, when she opens the door, she sees this guardsman of Zangalus', ah...Bill, Will ...Phil? I dunno."

"Say it's Bill," Zel said with a wink to Valgaav.

"Okay, so Bill's mouth opens wide at the sight of her shiny, wet...er...form. He pulls out two one hundred weight gold coins and tells her that they are hers if she'll just let the towel fall to her waist. She thinks why not, drops the towel down, and takes the money."

Valgaav snickered.

"So this Bill guy gets an eyeful then shows her two more hundreds and offers them if she will just let the towel go altogether."

"No, kidding!" Valgaav said.

"That's right. She thinks she has come this far so what the heck, takes the money, and drops the towel to the ground. Bill looks for a minute, thanks her and leaves."

"Mighty polite of him," Zel said.

"Yep. Anyway, when she got back upstairs, Zangalus was out of the bath by then, you see, and so he asks her who was at the door. She says "Just Bill." To which Zangalus asks, "Did he say anything about the 400 in gold coin he owes me?"

Valgaav exploded into laughter.

"How did this Bill character know Zangalus asked her that? He'd already gone?" Zel asked.

Gourry shrugged, "Just guessing."

"Not that it matters. It's a good story anyway." Zelgadiss turned to Valgaav. "If you take anything away with you from this night, remember this: experience is something you don't get until just after you need it."

"There's truth in that." Gourry nodded his agreement then sat looking blank, lost in thought. It was unfamiliar territory, so it could take him a spell to come to.

(0)

Xelloss dusted off the snow before reentering the humble home of the man providing shelter to Lina and him. He stepped over the dog lying beside Lina and knelt to examine her face.

"Yeah, Buster, poor the old thing, mostly lies around looking like a rug these days," the man said. "My name's Skiles, by the way."

Xelloss could feel the man's eyes scrutinizing his profile. "Thank you for letting us impose on you like this, Mr. Skiles. My name is Xelloss and this is Lina."

The old dog crept closer to the fire and further from Xelloss.

Skiles reached out and touched Xelloss' shirt sleeve. "You're not the least bit cold, are you?" Xelloss flashed him a sideways look. "A priest and a magic user, I'd say."

"Yes, you're right." Xelloss' attention returned to Lina. Her breathing was deep and even and her color glowing. She was going to be just fine.

"But not a healer or your woman wouldn't have gotten chilled and you'd be fixing her right up. Now that is a bit unusual for a priest."

"Is it?"

"Yes, and in these parts our priests don't marry. Or is she not your wife?"

"She's mine. We are from the Kingdom of Seyruun."

"Um... You're a long way from home. I've been there, Seyruun. That's the white magic capital of the land. I never heard of a priest of Seyruun that couldn't perform the most basic healing spells."

"I'm... not..."

"You're not a white magician, that's clear, and the only priests of black magic are thralls of demon kind, or one of them. And you seem too self-assured to be one of their slaves."

Xelloss smiled. "Are you saying I'm a demon? Do I look like one?"

For a moment their eyes locked, and then Stiles conceded and looked away, down at his dog. "'Course not. What would a demon be doing caring for a human girl? I was just thinking aloud, that's all."

Xelloss relaxed easing the tension from his back. "No, I'd say you are quite an astute observer. I'm just one of those rare cases of failure. No healing arts. At all."

The man smiled and slapped his hand on his thigh. "Ah, ha! I was close then. Surely no demon could love a woman as you do that one."

Xelloss' eyes widened then closed, melting into an unperturbed smile. He didn't dare cast a glance over Lina's face. Love?

"Yeah, you got the eyes of a killer until you look at her then you're a different man altogether." Stiles collected the mugs and tossed the dregs into the fire. "I'll make you fresh."

Xelloss made the mental note to keep his eyes closed in the future. Even if the man saw things that weren't there, it wouldn't do to fuel his imagination any more. "I had hoped to make it to the next village tonight."

"Villages are a day's ride apart, mostly. Around here they thin out as you climb the mountains to the pass, but there are inns in-between for travelers. The weather must have slowed you down."

"We were delayed by a side trip, but you say there is an inn not much further up the road?"

"Yes. Jerry's Inn out of Salem. Not far, but with the snow...rough going. If you leave at dawn you should make it before dark. That's a hard ride for your wife, in her condition. Still, you're in luck; the innkeeper's wife performs midwife duties, just in case."

"Salem, yes. That's just on the other side... My, ah, our destination was Burnish City."

"Don't bother with Burnish. Salem's a better place all around, if you ask me. And Jerry's is a fine inn. Just look for the sign of the star, then you know you're at the right place."

"Sign of the star, okay." Xelloss stood up. "Thank you. I have my work cut out for me, then."

Before Stiles could ask him what he meant by that, Xelloss passed his hands over the man's eyes mouthing "sleep", and settled him into a chair. Xelloss glided over to Lina and repeated the gesture over her head. "Sleep well, dearest," he whispered.

As he rose to his feet, old Buster snuffled and prepared to move again. "You, I don't want to sleep. Guard them," he ordered the mutt. He checked that his cloak was still under Lina's head, gripped his staff, and then disappeared.

Xelloss reappeared in an inn, but it was not Jerry's place. He didn't take time to enter covertly; he simply appeared in the center of the dining room. Zelgadiss snorted and jumped to his feet. "Xelloss! What are you doing here? Where's Lina?"

"Lina is safely sleeping, but it seems her math was faulty and the baby is due any day now."

"How about your math?" Zelgadiss honed in on a possible slip up. "You said it was your child."

"It is not a science."

Zel's eyes narrowed. "Actually, beyond the romance, it is all science, when it comes to human reproduction. Although, I must concede that I don't know what you call it when a demon's involved."

"Magic?" Gourry offered.

Xelloss looked around for Valgaav, his impatience wearing through his thin veneer of pleasantness. "You have no time to waste if you are to arrive in time." He spotted Valgaav at another table, grinning back stupidly at a young, pretty waitress who was chatting him up. The demon was instantly at his side. "Sorry to tear you away, but you must leave immediately."

Valgaav and Xelloss suddenly disappeared from the inn.

"Where do ya think they've gone?" Gourry asked, shaking the fuzziness away.

"Not far. He still needs us. Come on. Grab Val's stuff on your way out."

Valgaav was taller than Xelloss and he was using this, his only advantage over the demon, to its fullest effect, looming, arms wrapped around his chest to stave off the creeping cold. "Why'd ya do that? They said they'd be a chance at girls on this godsforsaken trip, and that was the first real headway I was making. And that transportation thing... don't do that again."

"You can do your own teleportation next time," Xelloss said sharply. His dark miasma of demon aura grew, extending from his human frame, enlarging his meek stature. "It's about time you lived up to your heritage."

That shocked Valgaav out of his attitude for a second. "Huh?"

"You're a damned powerful dragon. Act like it!"

Valgaav blinked when his heavy cloak hit him in the head. "Take this," Zel said as he and Gourry joined them. "What are you asking the kid to do?"

"I am suggesting that he transform into his dragon state and carry you quickly toward Salem."

"Not Burnings?"

"Burnish," Zel corrected Gourry.

"No, Salem's closer. Lina and I have a chance of making it there. Keep the road in sight. The villages and inns of interest keep to it rather regularly and you have twenty or so to pass up. Look for an inn with the sign of the star." Xelloss caught each man's eyes with his own, sharing a bit of candid worry and pleading with them to hurry. "I can't leave her any longer," he murmured before transporting away.

(o)

When Xelloss reappeared in the shack, Lina was sitting up, using the cloak for an elbow rest and her belly as a table. She was chewing on a hunk of bread and slurping soup alternately. "Hi!"

He rushed to her side, kneeling at her feet and looking deeply into her eyes. He didn't attempt to hide his relief and pleasure. "You look radiant. How do you feel?" he asked. I'm dropping pretenses like whores drop drawers, he thought to himself.

For the night, Lina was safe and comfortable. Her improved health warmed him with newfound contentment. Out of the corner of his eye, Xelloss noted that Stiles was still asleep. His eyes flitted across the snoring figure slumped in a chair. The man could think what he liked, tag him with labels: demon, errant priest, lover, or husband; they'd soon be gone.

Xelloss pulled his mask into place. He felt vulnerable when he was open and couldn't say all he was feeling, even with the old man sleeping. It wasn't his presence that was the problem. When it came to saying endearing words, Xelloss was stingy, because they didn't come out of him easily. He hoped Lina was super intuitive and could understand what it was that his demon heart chose to reveal. Xelloss tried to say it all with his eyes: how she smoothed the way for him in this physical world; how the only true things in his life revolved around her; how touching her connected him to the real world; and how deeply he cared.

"Weak, but the food helps, what little I have room for. Getting crowded in there," she said with a pat to her belly. "Ah, that man over there's still asleep, so I helped myself. Next time you think to hit me with one of your 'sleep' spells, don't forget to set it."

"I did." He thought he had, or maybe he just touched her hair, feeling its softness, connecting physically with her for an instant. He felt more than saw the smug look come over Lina.

"You're slipping." She smiled fondly and finished off her soup, wiping the mug out with the last of her bread. She set the mug on the floor and shrugged off the fur cloak. "Don't worry about it. It was better this way. I wasn't worried. I knew you'd be back." She stroked Xelloss' cloak, sending a tremor through his body. "You left this."

"Yes, I did." He stood unsure what to do, where to sit, what to say. The mixed bag of emotions percolating from Lina's person confused him.

"Oh, and don't think I've forgotten what bastard you've been."

"I'm not human-"

"I know; that's why I forgive you. I can overlook certain things when it comes to you. What I said was: I haven't forgotten."

"I see," Xelloss murmured thoughtfully. "You have always looked out for your own welfare first. I forgot how vulnerable you must be without your magic and-"

"You didn't want to throw that in my face, yeah, and you had your attention set on getting me to a safe place, and while I appreciate all that- just so you know- in the future, let me do the face saving; don't cut things so close."

"I will do my best," Xelloss said. "But don't blame me for coddling you in the future." He opened his eyes fully, letting her drown in his depths a moment.

Lina smiled and her cheeks glowed pink with a rush of embarrassment. Xelloss felt a disconcerting, tenderness settle over him with the knowledge that all was well. "We should reach an inn tomorrow, where there will be a midwife on hand, should you need one."

Lina winced. "Yeah, I'm getting these cramps more now. I don't know what that means as far as timing is concerned except that it's getting closer. I'm a little worried, since I can't do anything about that, but I can do something about... ugh... I'm overheating."

Both Xelloss and Lina had been skirting the issue, dancing around the subject of their relationship like a pair of professional dancers, or ice skaters to better fit the scenery, but even better, tightrope walkers. Their different natures created a line of demarcation between them. It was nearly a tangible thing they could see, hanging in the air, partitioning his world from hers. Lina walked it leaving a wide margin, but Xelloss balanced on the edge. Then, they switched roles, Xelloss avoiding the obvious and Lina plucking at the heart strings. Maybe they resembled two musicians out of tune, out of synch, but only barely. Was it enough to matter?

"Don't look at me that way!" Lina said as she disrobed to her camisole and knee-length underwear. "I'm hot now and I wanna get comfortable and sleep unrestricted."

Xelloss' eyes darted disobediently, raking over her exposed flesh, skin taut over a melon-sized swollen belly. She followed his eyes and tugged on the camisole to cover more. "I can't help my size," she grumbled.

He decided to cross the line. He moved quickly and heedlessly, falling to his knees and his baser instincts, and clasped her in his arms. He heard her gasp and watched her eyes open wide, meeting his for a moment. He smiled as his eyes dropped to her parted lips, ready to say something to him. He didn't give her the chance. He bent his neck a little more and covered her mouth with his own, kissing her gently, matching his passion with what he felt flowing from her. He pulled back and pressed her sideways, solidly to his chest.

"Oh, Lina..." As ordinary as the kiss might have been in the world at large, he thought he had instilled it with uncommon power. He expected it to have a hero's impact on her.

"Not bad for an amateur," she said. From the lightness in her tone, he knew she was joking and nervous.

"I'll have to try harder."

"You demons don't know what your missing, not having relationships," Lina said, surprising him.

He loosened his hold enough to pull back and look down at her. "We have them," he countered.

"Caring ones, idiot," she snapped and adding force to her words by winding her arms around his waist and squeezing, hard.

"We have those, too," he insisted. "We have a word for it; the closest translation would be 'soul contact'."

Lina didn't know that. It was something entirely new to her. "You just pulled that out of a hat, didn't you?"

He freed an arm and patted his bare head, smiling.

"I meant figuratively, and you know it!" she said. But one look at Xelloss' serious face, turning away with a faint blush, told her he was telling the truth, or some form of it. "So, let's just say there is this 'soul contact'; how does it work?"

He knew if he thought about what he was about to do, he wouldn't do it, so he acted heedlessly out of pure desire. "Close your eyes," he said, his breath warm on her ear as he bend lower to kiss her again. This time he let his aura swell and encircle them both, thinning to a fine veil, ever finer until it disappeared into Lina's body.

He had never before allowed anyone to penetrate his defenses, which of course was the point of them. He felt Lina's soul complete his and her knew that this was as close to true love as he would know. He released her and gazed into her eyes to judge the effect on her.

"That was nice- odd, but nice," Lina said. "Now I feel all drifty."

"I'll let you sleep. Here's another pillow..."

"Forget that. I'll just use you." Lina snuggled into the folds of his cloak and firmness of his chest and security of his embrace. "So, what happened just happened."

"A human and a demon shared a moment of passion and mutual satisfaction," he said with a smile.

Lina slapped his leg. "No evasions."

"Okay. I shared with you a piece of my soul."

"Oh!"

Xelloss could feel her awe. He could feel her everything. He was a part of her now. "I can't give you much; I have nothing else which is mine to give. Can you be content with this?"

"Yeah, a little creepy when you think about it. What does it mean?"

"Honestly, I don't know. It's a first!"

(o)

Early the next morning, while Lina was cramming the last of the bread supply into her mouth, Xelloss was outside assessing the road conditions. Two feet of snow barred the way. He would have to exhaust a tremendous amount of energy melting a path for the horse. "You haven't a sleigh?" he asked Stiles on his way back into the shack.

"No, gotta sled, but that won't do for you folks. Too small."

"I see," Xelloss said making up his mind what next to do. "We'll have to leave Salez here, with Mr. Stiles."

Lina shrugged. "Too bad. I was getting to feel a part of that animal."

"Consider it in repayment for your hospitality," Xelloss said, turning directly to the old man. "If you don't want to keep her, she's worth some money."

"I'll keep her. Good company for my mule, Daisy, and I have to feed one animal-- what's one more?" He cleared his throat and stood arms akimbo. "How will you and your wife be traveling then? I'm sure you have an idea."

Xelloss cocked his head and smiled. "Yes, I do. I will carry Lina and fly the rest of the way." He turned his smile her way, his eyes twinkling in delight. "Whether she likes it or not."

Stiles followed them out to the shed, where they said their goodbyes to Salez and Stiles. Xelloss shouldered both bags, and then swept Lina off her feet as if she were weightless. "Shall we?"

"Yeah, let's go!"

Xelloss did not have an inexhaustible supply of power; it just seemed so from a human's perspective. Keeping up the protective barrier from the elements, carrying the couple hundred extra pounds, while flying at top speed through blizzard conditions, was draining his energy reserves fast. He had to slow down if he was to make it to the inn at all. As a result, he sighted the public house with its bright lantern, shining like a star, cutting through the falling snow, an hour after nightfall.

"We're here." He shook off the snow, opened the door with a thought, and entered, hoping to sight Lina's friends. A quick survey of the large gathering hall told him they had not yet made it. "Damned pokey dragon," he grumbled.

The news got worse. There were no available rooms at the inn. The inn keeper's soft heart, or fearful one which read the incensed expression on the demon's face correctly, made another offer. "You can stay in the stable."

"With animals?" Lina shouted. She squirmed free of Xelloss' hold, and stood wobbling slightly and shoving her bloated belly as far out as she could. "That's stinks—literally! I don't wanna have my baby in a barn!"

"The loft is lovely. Fresh straw. Your husband is a magic user. He should have no trouble getting you up there and keeping you warm. Very pleasant." He leaned in and said in a low voice. "I've had a night or two up there myself."

Xelloss guessed it was a safe place to hold secret liaisons, but was unsure if Lina would think it was suitable for her. With a tired sigh, she relented. "Well, okay, but I want my dinner and lots of it, and fast! And it better not cost us a thing!" She stomped off to find a table.

Xelloss paid the man for the meal ahead of time "just the ordinary size" to avoid a scene. Her stomach was squeezed into a smaller space, and with her reduced magic use she no longer needed to eat voraciously to replace the energy used up by her castings. He asked about blankets and the services of the midwife, and was assured all would be looked to; water, towels, everything would be waiting for them.

"Thank you," Xelloss said softly, and then disappeared. Outside, he cast a spell and shot off a light spell. With a roar, the brilliance flared and rocketed into the air, where it hovered, another star, a conspicuous sign that the dragon boy, even a blind one, would not miss.

(o)

"Okay, so there's this weird light up ahead," Valgaav said in a deeper, raspier voice than normal. His dragon mouth and chest altered the manner in which he spoke.

"Seems out of the ordinary. This could be the place. Set us down back by that woodpile. Yeah, by the stable, out of sight," Zelgadiss said. "And transform quickly."

"That's Lina's yell!" Gourry shouted the moment they landed. "And it's coming from in there. Do you think-?"

"Wouldn't hurt to check the stable first," Zel agreed and dashed ahead to the tall wooden door. "Xelloss?"

"Yes!" Xelloss yelped. He leapt to the loft railing and hung over, waving energetically. "Just in time!"

"Valgaav, get human and get moving!" Zelgadiss barked at the slow-to-react teenager.

"I like being big," Val grumbled, but he did as he was told.

Zelgadiss grabbed Valgaav by the back of the neck and pushed him ahead of him on the ladder. "You're the best healer. Get up there."

"I never delivered a b-baby before!"

"Just control the pain and bleeding," the midwife snorted. "The little thing's doing just fine with me. Should be over in no time."

"Xelloss, you look...terrible. Go lurk over there in the shadows out of the way," Zel said. He cast the demon a wry smile and turned to Lina.

Xelloss flared resentfully. Zelgadiss had inseminated his Lina and now he would ease her suffering and help bring her child into the world. Xelloss could do none of those things, but he could hate the man and kill the man. He chose not to. Tonight, Xelloss would attend only Lina.

"Cut it ...huff...pant...pant... a little ...puff...puff... close," Lina said between gasps, "guys."

"Push now, deary, with all you can," said the midwife.

"Ahhhh!" Lina screamed.

"Recovery!" Zel and Valgaav said in unison, easing the pain.

Xelloss watched the entire process with rapt attention and fascination. This was a first for him; he had never before witnessed the birth of a human being. He took part in what Lina felt through their newly established 'soul contact.' What he perceived was an anomalous combination of pain and pleasure slamming into his brain in wave upon wave.

Very shortly thereafter, Lina held her tiny baby, complete with his thin tuft of dark hair, which Xelloss could see, had a ruddy glow. Xelloss thought of Rezo and his dark hair with a reddish cast and hoped Zelgadiss did not. The midwife had cleaned up and left, giving the friends their privacy.

"He's really perfect," Gourry said, beaming at his first love and her newborn infant.

"Thanks," she said, nearly giggling with glee.

"He's..." Zelgadiss fought for his words, "like you, Lina."

"He could look like anybody at this point, even you," Gourry said with careless abandon.

Zelgadiss paled. Xelloss nearly burned Gourry to ash with a thought.

"Naw, he's related to Xelloss. He's got that demon aura in him," Valgaav said. "Can't any of the rest of you feel that?"

Xelloss felt Lina's sudden glare, ducked his head, and smiled upon the dragon boy. "I don't think human's can."

"Here," Valgaav said. He placed a package next to Lina. "From mom." He cast a guilty look Xelloss' way. "Er, if she'd known. Gourry picked it out."

"Val!" Lina said. "You mean to tell me Filia doesn't know where you are? You've been gone for weeks! She must be mad with worry by now! Xelloss, how could you?"

"Mad with something," Zel muttered as he backed away.

Xelloss shook his head frantically back and forth. "I told her. I left her a note. In fact, by my calculations, she ought to be here... soon."

"Which means you just thought of it now."

"Bing-go!" He smiled and blinked out. His visit to Filia's would have to be brief or painful. Once he told Filia where to find Val, she'd be on his tail.

"Heh, heh... Poor Filia," Lina said.

Gourry and Zelgadiss, too, had brought gifts from Sylphiel and Amelia, who couldn't be there. "Things for you and the baby, in case you hadn't time to pick up a few basics."

"I can't open and hold this at the same time," Lina said.

"I'll take him," Zelgadiss said. He gingerly lifted the tiny, living bundle from her arms and stared at it, hoping to learn its secrets.

With her arms free, Lina unwrapped the gifts. "Nice," Lina murmured sleepily, yawning wide. "Zel, get me fresh socks. The other bag."

Just as Zelgadiss passed the baby to Gourry, Xelloss reappeared looking disheveled. "Filia on her way?" Zel asked him slyly.

"Yes." Xelloss smoothed his hair and thanked Gourry to turn over his little charge to him.

"So, where were you two headed, anyway?" Gourry asked. He nestled the baby in Xelloss' arms, subtly showing him the proper way to cradle an infant and support its head.

Without missing a beat, Lina replied, "Our honeymoon."

Xelloss realized that she wasn't his Lina. It was more accurate to say that he was her Xelloss. The revelation passed over him without a feeling of regret, surprise, or irritation of any kind; in fact, he liked belonging to her.

"Yes," he said, blushing. "It didn't turn out exactly as we planned, but it's transformed me."

"I'll bet." Zelgadiss stood, holding a book on ancient dragon languages. "Lina, how did you get this book? I've been looking for it for days. I'd thought I'd lost it."

Lina cast her ruby eyes on Xelloss, who was fortified by the baby in his arms. Xelloss looked into the distance, thinking. He let her know his mind: veiled malevolence wrapped in layers of mystery and dark purpose. He caressed the delicate cheek of Lina's baby, and let Lina know his depths of tenderness and caring. He didn't shield from her the immensity of his power or the vastness of his knowledge.

"You stole it from Zel?" Lina asked Xelloss with a hint of a smile. She adored him.

"I gave it to him in the first place," Xelloss answered. "He needed to bone up on his linguistics." He touched the baby's hair, amazed by its softness. The entire child-construction was so flimsy, and, yet, appealing.

"Why?" Zelgadiss oozed suspicion. Xelloss didn't need a 'soul connection' to detect that.

"Where is he?!" Filia roared. Her tail smacked the stable doors open, leaving one of them dangling from a broken hinge.

"Up here, mom. I'm okay," Val said waving. "Come see Lina's baby!"

Gourry and Zelgadiss met the seething dragon at the ladder and calmed her with reassuring words before allowing her to climb up. "Should have left a note. Yes, ma'am. Really sorry. Val's been great. Terrific kid. Blah, blah, blah."

One look at Xelloss and she nearly ignited. One look at the baby in his arms, at him cooing at a baby in his arms, and she nearly melted. Filia tip-toed to his side and peeked at the bundle, then turned to Lina. "It's a beautiful baby, Lina. How are you doing?"

"Okay. I'm tired."

Filia sighed. "Me, too. I haven't transported that way in years. Oh, dear... I don't think I have the strength to do that again tonight."

"Pull up a hay stack," Lina said airily, waving her arm.

Filia beached herself onto a heap of straw. "Tea?"

Lina nodded. "Sure, why not? Ah, Xelloss?"

"Hmmm?"

"Why didn't you have Filia come with Val in the first place?"

"I didn't think she would and I knew she wouldn't have trusted Val with me, or the others." Xelloss smiled serenely. "But, now that I have you here, I'll let you in on a little secret."

Lina straightened and glared warningly. "Xelloss..."

He cocked his head to the side and smiled. Lina should know her secrets weren't what he was referring to. "We need your help, Filia."

"Is that so?" She poured tea from a steaming pot-out-of-nowhere into a cup appearing magically in her hand. She offered the cup to Lina. "Here you go, sweetie."

"Yes." Xelloss tore his attention away from the infant in his arms. He spoke haltingly as his eyes slipped back to the baby's face. "There's this shrine... It's sealed, never been entered since the time of the Demon-Dragon Wars. It contains... something of value, I'm sure."

Lina's eyes widened. "You're talking about my treasure horde? I'm not sharing that with anyone."

Zelgadiss shook his head, eyes glued to Xelloss'. "Lina, think about it. What use is treasure to Xelloss? There's more. Something dangerous, shielded from his magic." He forced a grim smile. "A piece of Shabranigdo, I'd say. And he wants us to get it for him."

"Is that right?" Lina asked, but Xelloss knew she knew it was true. She could read Xelloss' mind, almost, and with time he knew that she might learn all his secrets. "Well, as long as it doesn't spoil my good time, we can go dig up a little trouble."

"You can't be serious, Lina. You just had a baby! You can't take a baby on a risky venture like that!" Filia cried out.

"I agree," Xelloss said.

"What? Xelloss, you traitor!" Lina wailed.

"I'm not proposing that you remain behind, Lina-dear." He added the endearment to put her off track, and it worked.

"Oh, okay, then..." Lina grew quiet. Xelloss could feel her fatigue numbing her mind.

"What are you agreeing to?" Filia asked. "What is it? Oh, I see, you need me to do what, take care of ... your baby?" Filia asked. "You want me to take care of your baby while you two go gallivanting off to some musty old shrine?"

"I'm going too, mom," Valgaav piped up. "We're all going."

"You can come with us, Filia," Xelloss said. "You're the best mother I know. I'd trust you."

"I am the ONLY mother you know, you damn demon!" Filia bellowed.

"Hey!" Lina yelled above the din. "I need a day or two to rest up. We can argue about this later. Now, would you all let me get my beauty sleep?"

The baby chose that moment to cry.

"Ah, Lina?" Xelloss said, weakly. "What do I do with it now?"

Filia stood gracelessly. "Oh, give me that child, you worthless creature. Yes, I can see you need a great deal of experienced help. I won't promise you anything, but I'll get you started. Now, shhhhh."

End, Chapter Five: Transforming a Demon's Nature

End, Left in a Demon's Care – Part 2-

Story TBC... in Part 3