Author's Notes: This would have gone up earlier but I was having trouble logging into fanfiction . net. I don't know if it's just me but I had to go to another computer to use a different web browser. Oh well better late than never.

Ghost Slayers

Chapter Forty-five

By Relm

"Now let's see the scene again but this time Naga can we have no more laughing?" The play director Zolf grumbled from his seat in the audience of Sailune Theatre while massaging his temples. His 'star' actress was trying his patience very thin.

"But it's key to my character to laugh to show a full range of emotions!" Naga protested from the middle of the stage waving the old book she held in her hand in the air to emphasize her point.

"Naga your character just found out her love was murdered! She would not be laughing at that moment!" Zolf growled.

"In times of delirium and denial laughing is very likely! OHOHOHOHOH!" Naga's laugh made more than one person cringe.

"Not when the script clearly states that you are sad and on the verge of tears!" Zolf roared back. "No do the scene properly."

Naga rolled her eyes got back to her spot on the stage sitting on a couch and opened the book once more. She barely glanced at the pages that she was supposed to be pretending to read so she failed to register anything strange about the book's red lettering. There was also the feeling of evil energy that emanated from the book that Naga also missed. But given that she was a smidge evil herself it was doubtful she would even care. So Naga just jumped right back into the scene with as much bravura as before.

Opening night for the play was slated for Friday evening (the next day) and everyone was excited for it. Except for Zolf the director of course on the count of Naga not following direction. Not that he needed to worry much; Naga was always professional when it came to the actual curtain time. Still it did little to abate Zolf's growing headache.

In fact Zolf was so consumed with the throbbing pain centered around the area above his eyes that he barely noticed the tall and broad man that sat down next to him.

"She's pretty good huh?" The large man remarked with just a hint of pride spilling into his tone.

Zolf almost jumped in his seat at the sudden noise. He hadn't heard or notice anyone sit down next to him and it was more alarmingly so given the stature of the man. Zolf was by no means a small man but he did feel dwarfed by the man who had sat down next to him. If the size of the man wasn't frightening enough there was another noteworthy thing to heed. This was no ordinary man. No it was the Philonel Sailune! A man who was both the mayor of their fair city and the father of the annoying lead actress of the play. "Mayor Sailune! I didn't even see you come in!" Zolf stammered.

"Oh I just had to sneak in to see my little girl on stage. I hope it's okay."

"No, no it's fine! You can come any time you want Mayor Sailune." Zolf laughed a shrilly nervous laugh as beads of sweat poured down the side of his face.

"Please call me Philonel."

"Right Mayor Philonel." Zolf nodded far too many times in agreement.

Philonel only shook his head in response. He decided not to correct the man and just continued on with his original train of thought. "So how is my baby girl doing?"

"Always the brightest star on stage!" Zolf squeaked with more nervous laugher bubbling out of his throat. Philonel was known for his peaceful ways and abstaining from violence and vulgarities but that didn't stop Zolf from being afraid of the man. When you were talking to someone who looked like they could squash you like a bug it was always better to air on the side of caution. He spied a look at his watch and was delighted to see it was lunch time. "Alright everyone we're done for now! I'll see you all after lunch!"

Though everyone had dispersed to go off on their own Naga still stood on stage silently going over her lines and movements in the scene. The book with the red lettering was still in her hand but still Naga failed to see anything wrong with the pages before her. The book seemed to realize that many people were leaving the theatre stage area giving it a chance to get what it desired. The letters started to glow again pulsing like a devil's heartbeat. This was completely lost on Naga. Her mind was centered on one thing and one thing only. Her scene. And since she was so focused on her work she had barely acknowledged the newcomer in the theatre not even bothering to see who it was. But she couldn't ignore the man any longer as he had hopped up onto to stage in front of her. "Daddy?" She exclaimed in joy. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you pumpkin. Would it be okay if your old Dad took you out for lunch?" Mayor Philonel Sailune said with a twinkle sparkling away in his blue eyes.

"OHOHOHOHOHOHOH! I wouldn't deny you the pleasure Daddy-dearest! We shall dine a fine restaurant with lots and lots of wine! OHOHOHOHOHOH!"

"Gracia sweetie I am not going to take you to a restaurant just so you'll drink yourself to stupor!" Philonel protested.

"Please Daddy? Just one glass? That's all I want, just one small glass of wine?" She batted her eyelashes with the saddest of puppy dog faces one could throw on in a pinch.

Lesser men had been roped by Naga's charms. She was a man-eater who could pretty much get whatever she wished. However that wasn't the case with her father.

"No Gracia, no wine. Not when you have to come back here later to rehearse." Philonel stated rather sternly.

Naga let out a defeated sigh. "Alright Daddy." She causally tossed the book in her hand into the table on stage not caring how it landed. The book ended up laying on the table open making the red stained pages visible to anyone nearby.

The closest people were Naga and Philonel but both of them were on their way out and had their backs turned to the evil book. Both of them missed the glowing red letters that seemed to be pulsating in a more furious pace. It wanted another victim but there was no one left in the theatre. So again the book had to wait and it stewed in its growing impatience.

...

Since making the discovery of the potential next target sites for the demon book the employees at Ghost Slayers had been hard at work on the phones. Each day was spent calling each potential site for reports of attacks of a ghostly nature. They had also visited some of the places on the list but they discovered nothing new. Sure there was a few ghosts lingering around the hospital (there always was) but those were real ghosts not the faux ghosts that Zelgadis, Xellos and Gourry seemed to be. If the book was already at one of the locations it was pretty well hidden.

If Lina had the staff and resources she would have had all the locations staked out to try and find the book before it attacked again. But with only three employees of hers and six possible locations there was no way to watch them all. And the park itself would require almost all of them just to stake it out properly. This was assuming of course that Sylphiel's circle idea was correct. If there were more victims that Lina and company weren't aware of then the next attack site could be anywhere.

"Thank you again sir. Goodbye." Sylphiel mumbled politely into phone as she hung it up. "Okay I think the museum is getting sick of hearing from me. I hadn't even said hello yet and he was already telling me there was no ghosts or evil books."

"Same here with the train station." Filia piped up. "Except with me it's 'Oh no it's you again? Stop calling me lady, there's no ghosts!'"

"The parks people won't even answer their phones at all." Lina added. "At least the church people are pleasant with me when I call. And I think the hospital is going to hire us for some future jobs."

"Well that's looking on the bright side Miss Lina!" Amelia beamed. "It would be wonderful if we could usher all those poor tortured souls wandering the hospital halls to the light and make them achieve inner peace."

"Yeah and my wallet would achieve inner peace with all the money we'll get!" Lina grinned ear to ear imagining herself rolling a pile of money.

"Miss Lina!" Amelia whined. "That's not what I meant and you know it! We should be focusing on good deeds not worldly gains!"

"Which is why you're going to the church instead of me later to check up with them." Lina decided pointing at Amelia.

"Afraid you'll burn from the sight of the crosses?" Zelgadis joked from the other side of the room. He and the other 'ghosts' were sitting around at the other end of the table trying to play a game of cards.

Lina angrily threw a pencil at him knowing full well it wouldn't do anything. "Anything new from the theatre Amelia?"

Amelia shook her head. "Nothing. Every time I talk to my sister and bring up the subject of the demon book she somehow turns the conversation around so that we're talking about her. She doesn't seem terribly concerned about a possible people eating book as she is about what sort of perfume she should wear for Saturday."

"What's happening Saturday?" Filia wondered feel a sense of dread filling the pit of her stomach.

"Well..." Amelia laughed nervously. "She's acting in her play of course... but afterwards she kind has a little after hours dinner date with..." Amelia trailed off for fear of stoking Filia's ire.

"My step-brother...?" Filia finished off prompted Amelia with a raised eyebrow.

Amelia nodded with shame washing her face. "Really I'm sorry Miss Filia! I had no idea that the two of them would hit it off so well! They seem to have such opposing personalities!"

Lina snorted. "Yeah right, they are both annoying, self centered and loud. How is that opposing?"

Both Filia and Amelia shot Lina a glare showing their loyalties to their siblings.

"But really Miss Filia I am sorry." Amelia apologized. "But for what it's worth my sister really seems to like your brother-"

"Step-brother." Filia quickly corrected her.

"Step-brother, and I'm sure she has no intensions of hurting him." Amelia assured Filia.

"So Naga and Val are going to get married and have lots of annoying babies blah, blah, blah... Did you actually talk to someone at the theatre that isn't a self absorbed air head?" Lina prompted Amelia with obvious distain in her voice.

"My sister is not an airhead!" Amelia protested. "But yes I did talk to other people at the theatre. None of them have seen anything weird. There are some there who believe the place is haunted but no more than the usual lingering spirits that have been there for years. Though they have been feeling a little nervous and agitated which could mean the book is there. But they insist it's because of stress of opening night tomorrow and my sister's presence and not because of the book." She concluded reading off her notepad.

"Have you taken a look around yet to see for yourself?" Sylphiel wondered.

Amelia shook her head. "I'm not allowed to according to the director. He's already peeved at me for calling so much. No one but cast, crew or maintenance is allowed in the theatre till opening night."

"Are going to go see your sister's awful performance?" Lina wondered while cringing.

"She's a very good actress Miss Lina!" Amelia snapped. "You should know that already! And yes I am going to see the play. Gracia did give me a ticket alright. Two in fact. Would anyone like to go with me?"

Slimer was first to raise his hand waving it in the air enthusiastically.

Amelia just had to giggle at her favourite ghost's reaction. "I'm sorry Slimer but I think it might cause a panic if a brought a floating green legless ghost to the theatre."

Slimer put his hand down feeling defeated. At least he was winning at the card game. Which given that he was the only one that could pick them up wasn't all that hard.

"I would love to go with you but I feel my dear Filia would be jealous." Xellos said rather smoothly in a sexy silky voice.

Filia threw a chair at Xellos for that remark.

"Filia stop throwing chairs at him!" Lina ordered her blond worker. "He's already got three of them over there with him from what you threw before."

"So getting back to my original question, does anyone want to come with me?" Amelia posed her question once more.

Amelia got no replies to her question making it clear that she wouldn't be going with anyone of them.

"I guess I'm going solo." Amelia sighed.

"It's just as well Amelia. The ghost slaying equipment you're going to bring to the play will take up a whole seat on its own. You could just throw a hat on it and call it your date. Then at least you wouldn't be a dateless loser." Lina joked.

"Miss Lina! That's not funny! I am not a dateless loser! I could easily get a date if I wanted one. And I can't bring all my equipment to the play! However will I explain all that stuff to the people around me? Everyone will think the theatre is really haunted and it will cause a massive panic. They'd kick me out for sure for causing a fuss!"

"Alright fine. Just bring your scanner but make sure you have your cell handy just in case there is a problem." Lina cautioned her. "And just how a curiosity who would you ask?"

"Who what...?"

"You said you could get a date if you wanted one, so I was wondering who would you ask?" Lina wondered with a saucy little smile tugging at her lips.

"Tha-that's none of your business!" Amelia blushed redder than a tomato and refused to look anywhere but the floor at that moment.

"Oooooh! Amelia has got a crush on someone! Who is it who is it WHO IS IT?" Filia taunted her.

"Yeah Amelia who is your secret lover?" Lina joined in.

"Now will you two leave Amelia alone?" Sylphiel interjected. "Her personal life is her personal life. And if she wants to go out on a date with someone whether it be that blond haired man that who runs the coffee shop or the grad student Pokota that Amelia used to hang out when she used to go to the university that's her business! Not ours."

"Oooooh! Coffee shop guy is cute!" Both Filia and Lina giggled.

Amelia just rolled her eyes and buried her embarrassed face into her hands.