Lina couldn't summon another amount of terror as the roof caved in on itself and gave a sickening groan, then collapsed down on top of her. All she could see was the large, bulbous eye of the huge, two-story slug in front of her...staring with hateful menace down on her, intending to kill her if he got the chance...
...or so her mind imagined. Seconds later, she was huddled on the ground, her arms around her waist and her legs in the fetal position as the roof collapsed on top of her.
Schnookums stayed where he was as he surveyed the damage he had created, and looked for possible signs of life having survived his arrival. Aristos should have had time to create a magic shield around himself, but I wonder if anyone else was able to survive that...?
The inn was just a ruin now. The wooden support beams had splintered apart under his heavy weight, and the cheap stone walls had crumbled like dust. Random piles of splintered furniture, squished food, and dirty linen were scattered throughout the rubble. No humans were readily apparent.
A minute passed without incident, or stirrings of life. Finally, a head poked it's way out, muttering curses all the way. He managed to get out only one coherent question. "Did Zelgadis and Lina survive?!" Aristos demanded as he pushed himself out of the rubble.
Schnookums couldn't answer him, of course, but he got his answer a few seconds later when two bodies floated into the air. Lina was curled in a ball, her eyes tightly shut and her teeth clamped together. Zelgadis was staring around himself in complete and utter confusion. The chair he'd been sitting in laid abandoned beneath him, but his bonds remained. Then he caught sight of Lina...and an angry blue flame caught spark in his eyes...
On the ground, away from the building, two figures concentrated on the bodies of Lina and Zelgadis. Wyna and Tannec gestured to their precious packages, and they floated to the soil at their feet. The shielding disappeared with a last flick of their wrists. Tannec quickly bent down and untied Zelgadis, while Wyna bent anxiously over Lina, wondering what was wrong.
As soon as Zelgadis was free, he scrambled over to Lina's side and grabbed her shoulders. "Lina! Lina, calm down!" he pleaded desperately.
Terror still bright in her eyes, she jerked sharply toward the sound of his voice and grabbed him around the waist. Without hesitation, he wrapped an arm around her. "Slughelphateslugsgottakillitneedsomesaltpleasegetsalt..." Her voice trailed away as she continued to cling desperately him.
"Damn..." Zelgadis cursed under his breath. He wasn't sure whether the curse was directed at the impossibly-large slug who had created her terror, or the person who had created the terror of slugs in Lina in the first place...or at Lina herself for not getting over her crippling fear. He squeezed her close, and said in a harsh, worried voice, "Don't you remember what I told you before, Lina?! We're partners! I'll protect you!"
Just as before, Lina's grip loosened, and some of her terror drained away. She relaxed in his arms, and let the comforting presence of his body holding hers banish the rest of the fear she felt.
Once she was feeling more like herself, she pulled away...
...and bopped him on the head with a nearby rock. He grasped his head comically in pain and glared at her.
"What was that for?!" he demanded.
Snorting, she replied dryly, "For dragging me all the way here to rescue you. If you hadn't gotten kidnapped, I wouldn't have had to go out and see that damn slug again!"
Sarcastically, he responded, "Sorry for inconveniencing you."
Wyna and Tannec stared at them in disbelief. Tentatively, Tannec ventured to say, "Um...shouldn't you be worrying about the guy who kidnapped Zel?"
Aristos, meanwhile, had been staring at them in white-hot fury. Despite that last attack, Lina and Zelgadis had survived... It...isn't...FAIR... They should have DIED! I won't let them escape this time! In his palms, energy collected and concentrated. "Icicle..." The energy lengthened till it was nearly the size of Lina herself. "...Lance!" The energy hardened and became ice in his hands. He wound his arm up and threw it with deadly force at Lina and Zelgadis.
They saw it coming, and quickly dodged to the side. The soil they'd been crouching on just moments before froze over and spread. Wyna and Tannec managed to get out of the way just in time.
As they halted, Lina focused on her anger instead of the terror still clinging somewhat to her...anger at being frightened so badly; anger at Aristos for bringing in his pet slug... and chanted words under her breath. "Vlave Howl!" She smacked her hand down hard on the ground, and smirked as a trembling started, roaring upwards till it shot from the soil in the form of hot, molten lava. It spread across the remains of the inn, covering Schnookums, Aristos, and any minions left alive. The lava hardened, and all was still...
Lina stretched and declared, "Much better!"
His lips twitching in suppressed amusement, Zelgadis commented, "I didn't know you could cast that spell."
She stuck her tongue out at him and made a face. "Don't underestimate me."
"Never," he smirked, crossing his arms.
Tannec and Wyna shook their heads and tentatively approached the two. "Can we go back to the castle now?" Wyna asked, rubbing her hands together nervously.
Tannec nodded and added, "There isn't any reason to hang around her now that Zel's been rescued."
"Sure, sure," Lina agreed, yawning.
They decided to take the short way back, and rose into the night sky, flying back towards the castle without looking back...
...If they had looked behind, they might have seen a cloaked figure coming out of a nearby, dark alley and putting limp hands on the cooled lava...
As they entered the castle, Tannec and Wyna faced Lina and Zelgadis with serious expressions. Lina simply yawned impatiently while Zelgadis raised a stony eyebrow questioningly.
Tannec cleared his throat, and looked down at the ground. Despite the dim moonlight pouring through the open gate, the three saw the blush on his cheeks. "Er...I just want to...um...erm...ah...say...ahm..." Wyna's eyes lit up as she realized what he was trying to say, and grinning, nudged him sharply in the ribs. Involuntarily, he spluttered out, "...I'm sorry!"
"For what?" Zelgadis asked coldly.
Blushing even worse than before, obviously embarrassed, he elaborated, "I wronged you a long time ago, when I attacked you without thinking. If it wasn't for me, that day, you might have gotten your cure a lot sooner." He shut his mouth, obviously intending to stop there, but again Wyna nudged him in the ribs. He glared at her before continuing. "...And I apologize for almost attacking you when you arrived today. It was wrong."
Zelgadis turned over his brother's apology in his mind, and finally pronounced, "Yes, you were wrong." The cold expression vanished, replaced with something softer. "Still, you've also saved my life. That makes up for some of it."
"...Eh? You noticed?" Tannec laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head.
Eyes sparkling, Zelgadis asked dryly, "How could I not notice the person who protected me from the collapsing inn? It was hard to miss the fact that I was floating."
Lina spoke up, and put in, "This is all fascinating, but I need my sleep! Come on, Zel."
Zelgadis rolled his eyes, but followed her lead as she walked back down one of the many hallways. Soon enough, they were both safely ensconced in Lina's bedroom...just in case someone else got a notion to attack Zelgadis again...
As he faced the wall, Lina got changed back into her pajamas and slipped underneath the covers of her bed. He turned back around, and spread out on the make-shift bed they'd made on the floor of extra cushions, blankets, and pillows.
"Zel..." Lina asked as he closed his eyes.
"Hmm?"
"...How did Tannec and Wyna know of the Rat and Parrot, and how did they find it?" It was a question which had been bugging her ever since she'd realized that his two siblings had never been to that area of town before.
Sleepily, he answered, "Every year, a new map of the kingdom is drawn up, and all members of the royal family are made to memorize it, down to the very last detail. They have to be able to remember everything...including such places like the Rat and Parrot. So, despite the fact that they've never been there, they would have known how to get there."
"...Ah..."
"Now I have a question," Zelgadis said, just as sleepily. "Why didn't Tannec and Wyna attack at the same time as you?"
"Oh, you mean when I first entered? I had a feeling I'd need back-up. Aristos had obviously gotten help from someone, and I was afraid that person might be lurking around, ready to help them again," Lina mumbled. "It seemed like a good idea to have two powerful people ready in the background."
"Makes sense," he murmured.
"Mmm." Lina yawned again, and let her eyes fall closed. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight...Lina..." Zelgadis said.
A few minutes later, both had gone quietly to sleep...