Ghost Slayers

Chapter Fifty

By Relm

After completely searching the park Lina and company had headed back to Ghost Slayers HQ to have dinner and talk over what they were going to do next.

"So the park was a complete bust huh?" Zelgadis mused as he watched the way the Ghost Slayers ate their fast food burger and fries dinner. The conversation was light with Lina and company and the mindless way they shoveled their food into their mouth showed just how drained they were.

Lina tiredly turned away from her food to glare at Zelgadis. "Really? You think?" She rolled her eyes and then went back to eating.

"What place are you going to try next?"

"I suppose one of us could go check out the church tomorrow." Amelia suggested. "Even if they won't let us take out equipment we could go look around. I'm sure an evil people eating book would stand out like a sore thumb in a church."

"If you're fine with going to a church you don't even belong to on a Sunday then by all means Amelia go right ahead." Lina rolled her eyes again and took a big bite out of her burger.

Amelia let out a sigh and went to eat her fries but jumped in her seat when her hand went through Gourry's head. "Mister Gourry what are you doing?!"

"I want to eat..." Gourry whined. "But I can't touch them..."

"So you thought you'd put your whole head in my fries?!" Amelia's eyes were wide with mortification.

"It didn't work..." Gourry rested his head on the table with tears streaming down his face.

"Gourry are you even hungry?" Zelgadis snapped.

"No..."

"Then why the hell do you care?! You don't need to eat so quit trying!"

"But I want to eat! I like eating!" Gourry whined.

"There are more things to life besides eating!" Zelgadis yelled at Gourry.

"Since we're kind dead that point is rather moot." Xellos mused while repeatedly 'touching' Filia's food.

"Stop touching my food!" Filia screamed while trying to swat Xellos' hand away.

"I'm not touching it. My hand goes right through things. See?" Xellos resumed 'poking' Filia's food.

"Zelgadis can you hit him?" Filia whined.

Zelgadis just shook his head and sighed. "So why exactly can't you guys go to the train station? You said that this morning and it doesn't make sense to me and it's been bugging me all day."

"Well since we had been calling so much they kinda threatened to call the cops if anyone from Ghost Slayers calls or shows up at the train station." Filia explained while still glaring at Xellos.

"Then don't announce that you're from Ghost Slayers. They can't really call the cops on you if we're just people thinking of buying a train ticket." Zelgadis rationalized.

"Still wouldn't be able to take our equipment with us." Lina interjected.

"It sounds like you won't be able to take it no matter which location you go so why does it matter?" Zelgadis shot back.

"We can bring our equipment to the hospital." Amelia pointed out.

"Yes but with all the ghost activity at said hospital didn't you guys decide it would be pointless to try and scan the building?" Zelgadis was quick to point out.

"You're so logical you're almost a robot." Lina darkly laughed.

Zelgadis made a mocking face at Lina and then rolled his eyes.

"Okay tomorrow's game plan..." Lina got up and uncapped her sharpie and started writing on the map. "Amelia since you suggested it you're going to go the church. Filia you'll go to the train station incognito. Sylphiel you're going to hit the museum and I'll take the hospital."

"Do I have to go to the church?" Amelia whined.

"They already hate me at the train station they'll recognize my voice!" Filia also complained.

"Miss Filia why don't you go the church, Amelia you go the museum and I'll go the train station?" Sylphiel suggested. "Would that be okay?"

Both Amelia and Filia nodded.

"You know Lina there might be a better way to go about this evil book search..." Zelgadis trailed off while tapping a finger to his lips in thought.

"How exactly?"

"I don't exactly remember it too well but I had a bad reaction to the drawings of the book and the other books of the collection right?" Zelgadis prompted her.

"Yes that's right. What's your point?"

"It stands to reason to that if one of us was brought near wherever the book is we'd react to it." Zelgadis pointed out.

"So you're suggesting that we bring one of you guys with us when we check out one of the locations?" Lina clarified.

"Actually I was more or less suggesting that you take me. Gourry's still getting used to his condition and Xellos... is well Xellos."

Filia let out a dark chuckle and smiled a taunting smile at Xellos.

"That is a good idea Zelgadis though I have no idea how exactly I could get you into one of the locations without you being spotted." Lina mused.

"But didn't Mister Zelgadis react before he even made it to the building?" Amelia interjected. "All you'd need to do is bring him in the car and if he reacts once you get near the building then you know the book is near."

Lina shrugged. "Alright fine Zel gets to go along. So who do you want to ride with tomorrow?"

"If I get to pick... then I'd say I'd like to go with you Lina." Zelgadis decided.

"Of course he'd like to go with Miss Lina." Xellos exclaimed in a teasing voice. "She is the one he runs to whenever he gets scared. He's bonded to her just like I am to my Filia."

"You piece of garbage!" Filia screamed. "We ARE NOT BONDED!"

"Aw Filia don't you want to be my knight in shining armor and protect me when I'm frightened?" Xellos batted his eyelashes at Filia in a girl flirtatious manner.

"I'd rather be the person who's scaring the crap out of you!" Filia threw a chair at Xellos.

...

At the first intermission of the play Naga had every intention of sneaking out into the audience to grab Val and sneak him into her dressing room with her. However Naga didn't even get anywhere close to leaving backstage. Naga wasn't one to listen to silly little directors when it came to rules but other people did. Many of the back stage workers were ordered to make sure none of the actors or actresses got into the general public in between acts. Not only could there be problems with the costumes but in the director's eye it ruined the whimsical nature of a play for the playgoers to see the actors and actresses out of character before the end of the play.

So it didn't matter how much Naga tried she was not going to get to the audience till after the play. It made going through the second and third acts that much harder. Usually she enjoyed being on stage and performing for the masses. Having all those eyes on her and with them hanging on her every word... It thrilled her to no end and really got her blood pumping. Except that wasn't the case this night.

The scenes were too long, her cast mates lines too slow. The whole night seemed to be dragging on forever. She felt like a child eagerly waiting Christmas with all her presents in view but having to wait to open them. The clock couldn't tick fast enough.

Naga cringed at each dramatic pause hoping her cast mates would hurry up their lines. It was really driving her mad. The moment the last line was delivered and curtain fell Naga almost dashed off the stage towards her dressing room. But she was pulled back on stage with the other actors for the customary second round of applause. It was very frustrating for Naga. She just wanted to get to her dressing room, get out of her costume and into her normal clothes so she could go get Val. She was tired of waiting and this was getting ridiculous.

"Wow Miss Naga you were really good tonight! So full of energy! You could just feel your anticipation with each scene!" A random cast mate gushed as the curtain went down once more.

"That's nice. Bye bye now!" Naga pushed past the woman and raced to her dressing room. Hanging up in her room was a slinky little number that she was just dying to get into. The sounds of her heels were like successive thunderclaps booming through the halls as she raced down them.

The moment Naga was in her room she started stripping down. She didn't even care to see if her door was closed, she just wanted out of that costume! It was so heavy and concealing with all those layers of fabric! Not fitting for a woman of Naga's character. Naga kicked off her ugly costume shoes in random directions not caring where they landed. One of them bounced off the evil book lying between the vanity and the side wall.

Yet another act of insolence the evil book had to endure. This whole process was so maddening to it. After being sealed away all that time to finally have a chance to be truly free and be denied it was a cruel fate. When it was finally free it would have its vengeance. All will feel its bloody wrath.

The book kept extending its bloody red glowing hand trying to grab hold of the buxom actress but Naga was just out of its reach. More fuel for the fire.

"OHOHOHOHOHOH! Time to get my delicious present!" Naga said to herself in the mirror as she reapplied her ruby red lipstick. With a satisfied smirk Naga turned around and strutted her way out to meet her sexy beast.

Val looked very annoyed as he stood with the masses waiting to see the actors and actresses. Though unlike most of them Val wasn't there to get an autograph. A part of him wondered why he came to the play and sat through the whole thing. He didn't like plays they always bored him to tears. So why go at all? To get his money's worth of course. He already spent a small fortune bidding on a date with Naga and play tickets came with the package. Enjoy it or not Val was going to go to that play.

"There you are!" Naga purred as she slinked over to Val.

"Where else would I be?" Val grumbled at her with his arms crossed. "Your play sucked-"

"OHOHOHOHOH!" Naga grabbed Val by the arm and dragged him with her. "Don't talk it ruins the mood."

"Your laughing ruins the mood." Val shot back annoyed that he was being shushed and manhandled as Naga dragged him down the hall.

"OHOHOHOHOHOH! Such a cheeky thing." Naga turned around and planted a hungry kiss on Val's lips. "Always so grumpy my sexy beast. I know I can make that frown go away."

"Where are we going?"

"Shhh..." Naga placed a finger to Val's lips. "No more talking." She kissed him once more before dragging him off again.

They ended up at Naga's dressing room door. Or rather they collided against Naga's dressing room door. The pair were locked lips in a heated embrace. With fumbling hands the door was opened the two almost fell to the ground. A couple giggles and they were back at it.

Being the ever commanding one Naga forced Val towards her vanity making him sit down on the counter space. Her fingers roamed his silk shirt as she devoured his neck. With a sudden fluid motion Naga ripped the shirt right open.

"That's an expensive shirt!" Val growled at Naga.

"OHOHOHOHOH!" Naga laughed throwing her head back. She leaned in real close and whispered into his ear, "Does that mean you're going to punish me?"

Val darkly chuckled.

On the floor the evil book was extremely frustrated. It wanted blood so bad that it could taste it but the annoying woman wasn't alone. Dare it attack while there was another there? What if it missed and was spotted? Books were fragile things after all.

The book was too angry to think straight. It wanted blood so it was going to get it. With its glowing red hand outstretched as far as it could it reached for the annoying woman's leg.

Naga kissed down Val's neck to the area she exposed from ripping Val's shirt. While doing so she shifted her posture moving her foot a bit to one side. Normally such an action wouldn't be such a big deal but to the book on the floor this was. Naga's foot which had been in arms reach of the book was now too far away.

Val was in heaven enjoying the feel of Naga's lips on his skin. So much so that he almost didn't feel a hand's grip on his ankle. But the pain coursing through his body made it very real and very present. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He screamed while convulsing.

Naga back up in shock as first thinking she had done something wrong. But even when she wasn't even touching him Val was still screaming. The aqua haired professor looked to be the perfect picture of torture. "Val! What's wrong?!" She went to reach out to him but he disappeared right before her eyes.

Satisfied the book on the floor disappeared as well leaving the buxom actress alone in her dressing room dumbfounded and terrified.