Author's Notes: A warning to you all we are getting very close to the end of Ghost Slayers. About time too given there's been so many chapters already! This isn't the last chapter but we are getting close.

Ghost Slayers

Chapter Fifty-nine

By Relm

Knowing what they were up against and how it attacked its victims didn't prepare Lina and company for the sight before them. There stood Mayor Philonel Sailune screaming in pain as the blood red glowing hand grabbed onto him from inside the book.

Amelia, Filia and Sylphiel were all in shock that they couldn't move. No one wants to see someone they know being attacked by some horrible thing. Most would like to believe that they would spring into action right away and stop it but the reality was shock but those thoughts to a halt more often than naught.

Thankfully the Ghost Slayers had Lina as their leader. She herself had seen a rewind of Zelgadis' attack from the book so she knew what she was expecting. Shock would not get its clammy icy hands on her today, she was prepared. As soon as Lina saw that hand grab Mayor Sailune Lina had her gun out ready to shoot.

There was no way to know if shooting the book mid attack would actually help the situation but Lina had no other aces up her sleeve. She had hoped to get to the book before anyone else was attacked but as usual with her life things never went the way she wanted them. So putting all her hope on a prayer, Lina fired her gun.

Lina had aimed for the book and not the person the book was attacking and perhaps that's the reason why this action was anything less than successful. Aiming for the person being attacked might have had a repelling effect on the glowing hand causing it to hide back in its shell of leather and blood stained paper. But no Lina had aimed for the book because it had made perfect sense for her to do so. And why not? The book was a book after all. Destroying said book should have meant destroying whatever was inside. It should have but this was just another thing not going right for Lina. For as soon as the energy blast shot out of her gun a second hand emerged from the book of evil. This second hand parried the attack sending it back at Lina. The Ghost Slayers redheaded leader was sent flying backwards from the blast and she crashed against the office room wall like a ragdoll being carelessly tossed about.

"MISS LINA!" Amelia cried out.

Lina heard her youngest worker cry out her name but she made no effort to respond. If she did open her mouth to speak Lina was sure she would just curse or scream. She had heard a crack when she hit the wall and the pain in her side confirmed it for her. At least one of her ribs had been cracked from the impact against the wall. The pain was worse as she breathed further adding the theory. Lina hadn't been in the greatest physical shape due to injuries she had previously sustained so she was surprised by this new level of hurt. Something like this was bound to happen and it wasn't the first time she had cracked a rib. What did surprise Lina was the minor pain she had felt from the deflection of her gun. Sure being shocked by one of the Ghost Slayers' ray guns would hurt like hell on its lower settings but Lina had set hers to max when she shot at the book. If anything Lina should have been unconscious or dead even. Not awake and pondering the situation.

Pain aside the plan was a fail and Lina expected in moments Mayor Sailune would disappear just as the others had after their attacks. And then the book would fall and disappear itself before it hit the ground. That is what should have happened as Lina looked up pathetically from the floor. As it seemed the book had other plans.

Mayor Sailune stopped screaming but the book didn't let go. It used both of its hands to hold onto the burly Mayor. Red energy crackled all around him as whatever creature that was trapped inside the book emerged from the blood stained pages and absorbed into Mayor Sailune. Once all the red light was absorbed the book fell to the ground with a deft thud. Its pages open for all to see. Gone away was the crimson ink, now only bone white pages remained. Whatever what was written was now bare.

"Daddy?" Amelia called out timidly to her father. Fear gripped at Amelia tightly as she looked on at her father. It was so tight that Amelia couldn't feel herself breathe. Or maybe she was holding her breath? Either way she was horrified with the horrible scenario that was playing out in her head. Was the demonic thing inside him?

Mayor Philonel Sailune had closed his eyes when he had started screaming. He had been in blinding pain so it didn't seem strange that he had shut them tightly the moment the glowing red hand had grasped him. But as he stood there now he didn't appear to be in pain anymore and yet his eyes still remained closed. The smile that slowly crept up his mustached face gave allusion to the purpose of his closed eyes. It had started out as a small smirk that didn't all too friendly and as it progressed it got wider and more sinister. By the time it had reached full peak it was like someone had stretched Mayor Sailune's smile so far that it made his face look like it was made of rubber. It was twisted and menacing but paired with those blood red glowing eyes of his just gave everyone in the room the shivers.

"That's not your father anymore Amelia." Lina grunted as she struggled to get to her feet while favouring her right side where she had hit the wall.

For whatever reason the creature that now lived inside Mayor Sailune found what Lina said as funny as the creature laughed out loud. It wasn't a joyous laugh but one that made one think of metal being massacred in a blender. It was hard pressed to even call it a laugh as it just sounded so sickeningly strange but the creature danced Mayor Sailune like a puppet making the man throw his head backwards and convulsing in a manner that looked very much like when the Mayor was roaring with laughter.

"What are we going to do?" Sylphiel wondered as looked to Lina with fear and concern in her eyes. Fear because they were possibly in great danger and concern for Amelia's father's life. Firing on a ghost was one thing but a possessed person was another. Whatever action they took against the creature they were also taking against Mayor Sailune.

Lina's teeth were gritted as she pondered their options. Option one, fire at Phil. Yes that would probably hurt or kill the Mayor but Lina knew that if Mayor Sailune could speak he would demand they fire on him. Philonel Sailune wasn't the type of person to be okay with someone using himself to harm others. The man would rather die than to be the cause for another's suffering. Option two, try to exorcise the creature out of Mayor Sailune. Even though Lina dealt with ghosts for a living she was a real religious person. She lacked the patience and virtue of priestess or shrine maiden and she knew no exorcism rituals. Lina always relied on science when dealing with the supernatural. Plus she had no idea what sort of creature this was. Was it even a spirit? Or was it something else? Would a standard or an extra strength exorcism even work on this thing? Exorcisms were dangerous enough to start off with let alone when they go south. Option three, run like hell. Of the three options this one was probably the smartest. If you didn't know how to beat an opponent then run away to safety so you can think of a solution. And Lina and company had no idea how to deal with the thing to start off with at it was.

Just like when Lina talks she was also fast when it came to thinking. She pondered all three options within just a few blinks of an eye. And even though she came to a decision quickly it wasn't fast enough to stop the situation from getting worse. For in that time Lina took to think of what they should do the creature had summoned forth its victims. One by one Zelgadis, Xellos, Gourry and Val all appeared before the possessed Mayor. The four men looked terrified and seemed to be screaming though not a sound could be heard. And as quickly as they appeared they too were absorbed into the possessed body of Mayor Philonel Sailune.

"NO! GOURRY!" Sylphiel cried out running in vain to try and grab Gourry's hand before he was completely absorbed. She didn't get far as Filia and Amelia grabbed her pulling back keeping her from being attacked/absorbed too.

Another round of metallic laughter and poof the Mayor was gone.

"Gourry... no..." Sylphiel crumpled to the ground with tears flowing like rivers out of her eyes.

Filia's bottom lip quivered as she too felt the urge to cry. Seeing Xellos in that way really tugged at her in a way she didn't like to be tugged. She hated it so Filia bit hard on that rebellious bottom lip and brought out her old friends anger and rage. "Where the hell did that monster go?!"

"The house..." Lina replied feeling sick to her stomach saying it. Things were bad much more then she thought they would get. If the creature could teleport then it could already be at the ghost magnet house. And if it was already there then there was no hope left. They were hooped seven ways to Sunday. Failure loomed heavily over Lina's shoulders but as much as the fiery redhead wanted to succumb to self pity it inspired she knew she couldn't. Better to go out fighting than to just lay down and die. "We have to get to the house!"

"But Lina our cars aren't close and the building is surrounded by cops!" Filia exclaimed. "How the hell are we going to get there fast?!"

"Police escort." Lina replied with a dangerous smile gracing her lips. Oh she was going to owe Zangulus big time but they was potentially the end of the world here. He was going to have to cut her some slack. 'He's going to hate me big time for this.' Lina thought to herself as she whipped out her phone.

...

Inside Ghost Slayers HQ the sudden disappearance of Val was sending Naga in a tailspin of worry and confusion as she and Slimer looked around frantically for Val.

"Where did he go?! Where did he go?!" Naga kept asking over and over.

Slimer, upset that she was upset, could only shake his head as he was just as confused as she was.

The pair checked all through the building not finding anything till they eventually ended up back into the office where the Ghost Slayers had had their last meeting. All of their notes were still all over the table.

During that whole meeting Naga hadn't really been paying attention as she wasn't a Ghost Slayer she was an actress. This stuff was a little over her head as it was and there wasn't much she could do about anything. She trusted that her sister and the rest of the Ghost Slayers would handle things and everything would be okay. But now that Val had mysteriously disappeared she wasn't so sure.

Naga had no way of knowing whatever Amelia and others had gone off to deal with had anything to do with Val's sudden disappearance but that's what her gut had told her. It had been awful seeing him screaming in pain like that. It was just like when she had lost him the first time. After that happened Naga had called her sister. It had been the right thing to do at the time and the right thing now.

Naga was just about to do that when her eyes fell upon the map on the table. In the back of Naga's mind she heard Lina's annoying voice talking about a house in the middle of the star on the map. Naga couldn't quite remember exactly what the details were about this spot but she knew this was the place they were going to have to go to if things went south.

With her phone back in her pocket Naga got up and smoothed out the lines on her borrowed Ghost Slayers jumpsuit. She had a look of determination on her face as held up the ray gun in her hands. This dress up Ghost Slayer was going to become the real thing.

"Alright Slimer Naga the white serpent is going to get her man back! OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOH!"

Slimer wasn't quite sure what had the busty woman so happy but if she was happy then so was he.

...

"You do realize I'm going to have to take you four down the station afterwards and actually arrest you." Zangulus reminded the Ghost Slayer quartet as they raced down the street in his squad car with sirens.

"Yeah yeah if we don't succeed in getting this catastrophe solved there won't be an afterwards." Lina retorted while wincing. With each bumpy spot on the road the car jumped slightly causing Lina pain and discomfort each time the vehicle hit the ground.

Zangulus gave Lina a quick sideways glance before looking back at the road in front of him. "I should really be taking you to a hospital and not to the one residential neighborhood in the middle of the city."

"It's just a little cracked rib nothing to get all worked up over. They'll just give me some pain killers and a brace or something. Keep your eyes on the road and try and avoid those damned pot holes!"

"Why are you wanting to go to this house for? Isn't the book at City Hall?"

"It was in City Hall but whatever was in the thing has gotten out and that neighbourhood is where has headed." Lina explained.

"How do you know this?"

"Educated guess." Lina sighed. She was anxious really anxious. Even though Zangulus was going as fast as he could it didn't feel fast enough for the situation. If they didn't get there soon who knows what was going to happen. Resting in her lap was the book the monster had left behind. The pages were bare of ink but Lina knew there was still power within its leather bindings. If they couldn't get this thing into one of their containment boxes then Lina had a feeling that the book might be their only hope.

Outside in the skies above a storm was brewing. The clouds were gathering in a dark angry swirl threatening to touch down on the cursed ground below.