Zelgadis stepped hesitantly into the darkened cavern and gasped, breathtaking was too fair of a word to describe the cave. Clear crystals lined the walls and seemed to serve as some sort of light reflector. In the center of room a single stairway stood alone, leading up to what looked like a shrine of some sorts.
A real cave of wonders. Lina would have loved this.. Zelgadis shook his head. She will love this, he amended. Feeling the ever-present sadness rear its head, Zelgadis chided himself, This is for Lina. She'll get to see this all.
Taking one last sweeping glance about him, he started towards the stairway. Climbing with brick-ladened feet, he absently wondered why he had never heard of this place before now. You'd think a place like this would get more visitors or at least a rumor or two. Is this some sort of a trap? Could that damned Priest set me up because he knows that I know what happened to Lina?
Zelgadis shook his head at the ridiculous thought. Damn it! He has already taken everything from me and he knows it. What would he gain by my death? The others already think I'm crazy.
His thoughts where cut short when he viewed the scene that the altar room unfolded for him: the crystals that lined the walls below seemed to acts as a natural mirror reflecting vast amounts of light into the small room. In the center of the room, a statue of a weeping woman stood, holding her arms out as if to ward off some invisible attacker. What kind of person would make a statue like that? he thought with a fare amount of disgust.
He crept around the statue cautiously, dusting as much off around the base as he dared to do, while looking for some sort of instruction. As he felt around the base of the statue, a soft light seemed to start pulsing from the core of the statue. Is this an altar to something or could this be a energy conductor?
"Neither," a voice slithered into his mind, startling his movements.
Zelgadis jerked backed, tripping over his feet and falling hard on his butt. "Who.. Who said that?"
"I said that."
Zelgadis looked about him, the voice seemed to permeate from the walls, the statue, and even the floor, and it encircling him in its velvety smoothness. "Are.. are you some sort of spirit? A god?"
The voice seemed to laugh over that, sending small jittery waves into his mind and then the atmosphere changed; everything felt lighter and looked brighter. "You could say that, I guess. But that's enough about me; let's talk about you. I know why your here."
"How?" Zelgadis got back on his feet and dusted the dirt off his butt.
"It's written all over you; your own emotions created this room. The statue that you so despise was created by you - it is a representation of what you feel inside over her death."
"I have a question for you then: How is it that I've never heard of this place before? You'd think if something is truly so powerful that it could bring a person back from the dead, that more then one person would know about it!"
"This place can be seen by people who have true wishes, not any other kind," the voice stated.
"So where were you when I was looking for my cure?" Zelgadis shot out.
"As I said before, this place can be seen by people who have true wishes, not any other kind of wish. Your true wish was to be by Lina's side, not to find your cure."
"So then your saying you can bring her back to life? Even without a body?"
The voice paused for a moment before saying slowly, "If it is what you truly want. But I can only grant one with to you. You must know that the cure you've been looking for doesn't exist on this plane of existence - in other words, I'm your only hope in getting back to your human state."
Zelgadis's hands became tight balls and his face downcast. "What does my cure mean to me if I don't have her by my side to celebrate with me? What am I without her? My existence is useless - I don't care what I have to do, just bring her back to me!"
If a formless voice could sigh, this one would be doing it right now. "If that is what you wish. It is not my will to deny true wishes but you must realize that I will be forced to take some of your own life force to make her come back. You will die sooner then the Fates first divined."
Zelgadis nodded hastily. "Let's get on with it."
Not a second later, a blueish white light enveloped him and a faint feeling of discord filled him, as if his soul was being ripped in too. And as suddenly as it had begun, it was finished and he was back in the middle of the desert with something huddling in his arms.
Someone.
Not someone, Lina. His mouth fell open and he grasped her, pulling her sleeping for against him. "Line! Oh, Lina!" he cried, falling tears splattering Lina's face.
Looking over her to make sure she was okay, he noticed her current state of undress. Laying her gently on the sun warmed sand, he took off his own shirt and dressed her in its rough material, wishing that he had something with more of a softer fabric. After he completed the task, he drew her against him once again.
Zelgadis felt Lina stir against him and he held her out a bit to she if she would wake.
"Zelgadis?" a weak voice murmured. "Is that you?"
Zelgadis's hand cupped her chin and he stared intently into her face. "Yes, it's me. How are you feeling?"
Lina sighed and fell back against his chest, snuggling into him as if he were soft bed. "Tired, very tired. Let me sleep a bit more, 'Kay?"
"Okay, Lina," he whispered, running a hand in her silken hair. "Sleep and I'll get us out of this place."
Lina mouthed a wordless response before letting sleep take her fully.
Setting her on his back piggy-back style, he looked around the now barron scenery. "Where the heck are we?"