The flames had nearly consumed the wood, and they burned steadily, giving a flickering, elvish light to the occupant of the room, but no warmth.
Lina Inverse, genius sorceress supreme, once vaunted and feared, now merely forgotten, stretched in the chair she stradled, the wood as bent and ancient as her body should have been, then continued to pour over the book of sorcery she had "liberated" from the library of one of the country's richest men. He know absolutely nothing about taking care of old books, she mused. The spine was bent and cracked, pages worn and mouse-girdled, and bookworm leavings were present all throughout. Well, it was nothing less then what she expected from a man who treated his books as mere curiousities, things trotted out to shock or amaze the neighbors. This book had been young when she had been young, and had grown old with her, yet she was in better condition. It brought a softly amused smile, the smile of a plump, satisfied cat to think that.
Lina rose and went to the tarnished silver mirror, the gilt frame peeling and cracking, worn with dust and age, and took a good long look at herself, something she hadn't done in a long while.
The once red-gold hair had been dyed black to keep people from wondering, and the sorceress outfit had long ago shredded into rags. The skin was still pure and clear, but the eyes had grown hard, and the mouth had a sharp and lemony downward twist that spoke of an old and bitter maid. Well, she had never married.
To stay and watch a beloved person grow old and feeble while you yourself stay young and fresh is a task too difficult for most. She had walked away, told him to find someone "that wasn't as special" as she was, meaning normal, and had come back again, only to grow sad and rueful at the signs of age she saw overtaking him with the rapidness of ivy overtaking a stone wall, hiding the true facade behind a mass of twisting vines. The last time, she hadn't even been able to find Gourry under the wrinkles, the mottled skin, the trembling hands.
But his eyes were still bright and pure, and they were what she remembered the most, as she had said goodbye, telling him she'd be back to visit after she returned from her trip, and he had smiled with old familiar sweetness, chiding her to remember herself, to tell him all about it when she returned.
Her return had found her telling the story through tear-blurred eyes, to a freshly planted grave in the old field, and had ended when she had lost it and starting screaming at the bland gravestone, asking why, until several strong men had come and dragged her away.
Then she had been the only one left.
Morning dawned grey and peevish as always, but Lina was too busy running errands to notice. A book here, an artifact there, a magic amulet snatched from a junk dealer too absorbed in greed to watch carefully. She loaded her pockets, but the familiar heavy ache of loneliness and grief she kept around her heart at all times made them lighter and she scarcely noticed when her pockets threatened to split at the seams from the weight.
Across from Lina, in a shop known for its rare antiques, the owner was busily looking through his old chests for a customer of his.
"Lemme see....I think I got some old stuff here," he said, rummaging through a box filled with the dull sunlit gleam of worn gold, a few emeralds and rubies tossed in for good measure. He came up with a pendant, gold and onyx, a bit of brass thrown in to cheat the customer. He studied it for a moment. It certainly didn't look magical, but then again, a novice could never really tell.
"Is this what you were looking for?" he asked, turning the pendent around so its face stone gleamed dully in the light.
"Oh, no, no," his customer said, shaking his head regretfully. "It's a set, you see. Four amulets, red stones-Bloodstones, I believe, such a nice name-in a silver and onyx setting, with silk bands to wear. I think they were known in ancient folklore as the Stones of Demonblood? Ring a bell? No? Then perhaps, this will jog a memory. They were once the possession of Lina Inverse."
"Lina Inverse," the owner breathed. "My word. They must be strong stuff then. But," the owner said, turning around to replace the pendant, "you must know that if they belonged to Lina Inverse, then they've been reputedly lost for about one hundred years now. Lina Inverse supposedly died in the Second Demon War."
"Oh, yes, I heard. Sad stuff that," the customer said, a tad sorrowfully.
"Not really," the owner said, neatly restacking the box. "Who knows what that crazy girl would have unleashed on us all if she'd lived? Sad for her, maybe, but it was the best for all of us."
The customer bowed his head slightly. "I'm truly sorry so many feel that way," he murmured.
"Well, you know," the owner, said, scratching his chin, feeling the stiff stubble rub against his hand, "since you seem so interested, there's a little girl around here that claims she's a descendent or something of that Lina Inverse. Looks like the old pictures of her even, except she has black hair. Her name's... errr....Celina. That's right, Celina."
The customer's eyes widened appreciably. "Really? Where might one find this Celina Inverse?"
"Ahh, she lives over some dive, in this rattletrap third-floor walkup. Sad little girl..no parents, no job, no friends..." Then he noticed he was speaking to an empty room.
"Strange guy," he murmured, more to reassure himself then anything else. Those violet eyes had been the mark of some uncanny thing, he could feel it in his bones.
Around the corner, the customer paused, giggling happily. "Silly child....you've been hiding for so long now. Now it's time to come out of the dark."
He vanished.
Lina had finished her morning chores, and was eating lunch at her usual cafe, devoring as many plates of the chicken special as they would allow her. She paused for a second to glare menacingly at the couple a few tables away who had been staring at her curiously, as if she had been put here solely for their amusement. They noticed, and quickly went back to decorously eating their own food. Lina snorted, not caring. She knew people got together in dark corners and muttered things about her, why she lived alone, why she had so much money despite the fact that she had no job, how she ate so much and stayed so small. It didn't matter. She'd rather be secure in her own loneliness then have to endure the company of these yokels who just didn't understand. To them, she was an oddity, something to be poured over like an exotic book and stared at, until she could feel the weight of all their unasked questions pressing on her, squishing her into a flat thing. The stares had been there the day she's walked in, increased when it became known she planned to stay, nearly crushed her the day an army of renagade Mazoku had charged into the village and she had destroyed the entire good invasion force with one shot, without even looking up from her dinner.
Lina got up and shook the memory off, as if it were dust off a bookshelf, and brushed some crumbs off the table with a sweeping, dramatic flourish. The past was long ago, and now it was time to move on.
She tossed some money down by the owner. Sometime in the last fifty years, paper money had become common. To Lina, watching a handful of paper money flutter gently into place wasn't nearly as satisfying as hearing the clunk of a full purse of gold landing after flight. Ah well. Such is life.
Lina pushed the hood of her cloak back as she walked outside. The dyed strands whipped in front of her, and for a moment she allowed herself to pretend that this was someone else's hair, that she was different, not special, not forgotten and lonely.
She put the hood back into place and walked on.
Behind Lina, a shadow slid, fluid from centuries of practice. It watched her walk, and sighed a bit dramatically. The shadow slipped behind a row of open air shops, and giggled, letting its aura drift on the breeze to her, making itself known.
Lina was almost back home when a strange feeling slipped over her, as easily as her foot slipped from her shoe. She turned around, trying to locate the source. Strong. Very strong. But.... no Mazoku should have been able to get through the wards she had placed around the town after the ill-starred army had been blown to bits. She hugged herself. She did not want to see any Mazoku again.
Not ever.
She turned back around just in time to see the edge of a dark cloak disappear around the corner by her home. She clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle the scream, and waited, frozen as if she were a statue carved of ice.
When she was sure it was safe, she dashed up to her home, the creaky old stairs groaning in protest as her feet pounded on them, clumsy nervous fingers fumbling for her keys. When the door finally popped open, she stumbled inside and slammed it shut. She panted, half sobbing, half gagging. Please, it couldn't be........
But it was. It had been. The cloak, the aura.....Xelloss.
But how could it be?
She had killed him herself.
Now, why had she dyed her lovely hair such a depressing color?? Well, he could appreciate her wanting to be unnoticed, but that was going a bit too far. Still, she really hadn't changed much in a hundred years. The same sweet little body, the same delicate curves, visible even under that dowdy smock she was wearing. Small hands so white and pretty like doves, fluttering around her like falling feathers in her nervousness.
But that running like a scared doe business...well, that wasn't his Lina at all! Poor Lina-chan must have startled, and rightly so. Maybe he had gone a bit overboard. After all, it wasn't every day that one saw someone you had murdered over a hundred years ago. Maybe he should tone it down a little. He considered that for a few minutes, then grinned. But he really deserved an apology for what she had done. And what better time then the present?
Lina huddled in the middle of her bed, wrapped up in as many of the bedclothes as she could find. She inhaled and exhaled through pursed lips, trying to stay as quiet as possible, and berated herself.
She had been stupid to return home, away from people, from help. Though what could any of these people do against Xelloss? The most she could have hoped for was that he wouldn't attack her in front of a crowd. But here, she had her wards, though if he had managed to break through the ones surrounding the town, hers were absolutely useless. She turned slowly, drawing her knees up to her chest, thinking. Strange that she hadn't felt the wards break....
Maybe she had been halluciating. Yes. She had felt a bit lightheaded with hunger coming back. Maybe it had all been a hunger induced delusion. Cheered by this thought, Lina got up, wrapping the trailing bedclothes around her, and walked with dignity to the kitchen. Gathering up as much fruit as she could stuff in her two hands, she closed the cabinet door,and walked back to her bedroom, munching as she went.
"Hello, pet!" Xelloss said cheerfully, smiling and waving at her from where he had perched on the bed. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
Lina screamed, the fruit dropping from her limp hands. Wheeling around, she ran for the kitchen, for the window that was there. The end of her quilt caught on the corner of her cabinet, tearing the blanket from her legs, tripping her. She fell down hard, cracking her head on the tile floor, and lay there unconcious.
A hand fluttered into view, shaking a few drops of liquid on her face.
"Wakey, wakey, Lina-chan."
Lina opened her eyes slowly, quite afraid of what sight would greet her eyes if they opened. A pendent swung in front of her, slowly rotating on its chain. One of the Stones of Demonblood, amulets she hadn't worn in over a hundred years.
"I found it in a drawer," a familiar voice whispered in the dark, low and soothing like the hum of bees. "Rather careless, don't you think, to leave such fine items in a drawer with junk?"
Lina turned her head to the side with great difficulty. Xelloss was lying beside her, propped up on his elbow, the other hand holding the pendent. His staff lay across her throat, heavy and cold.
"I just did that so you can't make any sudden moves. Not a good idea with a head wound like that, ne? Wouldn't want my Lina to injure herself any further."
"Why not, when you can do it for her?" Lina said bitterly, her tongue thick and slow in her mouth.
Xelloss smiled condescendingly, and patted her cheek, stroking her face with gloved fingertips. She tried to move away, but the staff was too heavy, keeping her still. He pushed his face closer, smiling slightly.
"Oh, I forgave you for that long ago. It was almost..loving, if I may use that word for what you did. Sweet, silly girl, you do know how to please."
"But.."
"Why am I alive you ask? Excellent question. You see, my mother - you remember my mother, don't you Lina-chan? You looked right at her with those lovely melting eyes of yours. She was rather upset that her only child and faithful servant had been effectively eradicated, so she went home, called up some of the dark gods - of which she is one, mind you - and a few days later I was back, none the worse for wear."
Lina remembered that girl, standing there after she had straggled out of the thicket, with dust in her mouth and tears in her eyes. The blonde girl had been standing quite still on a little bluff overlooking the thicket, watching her. Lina had looked up defiantly at her, noting her power, knowing what she was. To her surprise, the girl's eyes were weary and resigned, the mouth twisted bitterly at the corner. They had looked at each other for a moment, then the blonde girl had shrugged half-heartedly, turned and disappeared. Lina climbed up the bluff just in time to see the wolf disappear into the trees at the other end of the now empty battlefield.
"Beastmaster.." she said in a little puff of air, now realising. That woman..the hardened eyes, the grim lips set in a thin straight line, face etched in a picture of grief and weariness. Then she registered the fact that Xelloss was still talking, and turned her attention back to him.
"...and I was quite upset to hear the rumors of your death on the battlefield, which I now see had been greatly exaggerated. Why did you pretend to be dead, my dear?"
"I didn't want to be Lina Inverse anymore," she growled through tightened lips.
Xelloss's eyes and smile both widened.
"Oh, I see. My little genius sorceress couldn't take the pressure anymore, so she pretends to be dead and resumes the name of Celina Inverse. I guess you never let it be known that your real first name was Celina, did you? My question is, did you keep in touch with your amusing friends?? I saw the graves of the Princess and the Chimera..or should I say, former Chimera. Quite nice. Very peaceful and all that. Where's the swordsman buried?"
"Yes, and I'm not telling."
"An immoveable object, are you? Oh, dear. Well that can't be helped. You're always stubborn, no matter what name you have, aren't you? Not married, no children? I thought you would have married that disgustingly dense swordsman, and raised a brood of imbecile sorcerers. Though," he said, his liquid eyes sliding down her body, "you certaintly don't look like you've had any children."
Lina tried to shield herself from his gaze, and only succeeded in rolling over onto her back. Xelloss idly picked up some of her hair, running it through his fingers. "Why the artifice?"
Lina made a small squeak of protest, trying to remove his hand from her hair. He ignored the little hand pawing blindly at his larger one, and pressed the sore spot left by the fall. Lina cried out, and tried to push the staff away from her throat so she could rise, but he pushed her down, hard.
"It hurts, doesn't it," he whispered. His hand went to her cheek again, making her turn towards him. His arms slipped around her and held tight.
"Almost as bad as the loneliness, doesn't it, Lina-chan? You're lonely. I'm lonely." Xelloss leaned forward, and kissed her ear, nibbling the lobe. Lina sobbed, half in fright.
"Let's take the loneliness out of each other for a little while. Please Lina-chan?" he breathed into her ear.
"No..no!!" He bit down hard on the side of her neck, and she whimpered and gripped the silky strands of his hair. He pulled away, admiring the small red marks left by his teeth.
"You hurt me by being away for so long, for throwing me over for the idiot. Do you remember when I kissed you? When we kissed? You weren't crying out in fear then. When did I become something you feared? Silly girl, as much as that fear pains me, I like it. I like pain, crave it in fact. I used to relish those beatings you gave me. I'm not truly hurting you, you've been through worse. I'm just hurting enough to please. When did you become a coward?"
"I am NOT a coward," she informed him through clenched teeth. Xelloss laughed sweetly, his eyes glowing amethyst in the dark. "Liar," he smirked, then bent and began on her neck again, nibbling the curve lightly, pausing every so often to listen to her cries.
Lina gripped his hair, not wanting to give in just yet, but his warm, insistent mouth was beginning to loosen her resolve. "Stop it," she begged weakly.
"No," he said calmly, removing his mouth. "I've waited too long for this, my sweet desire, my angel, the beautiful tempter that flitted through my dreams. Don't tell me you don't like it," he added almost as an afterthought. "I can smell you."
Lina opened her mouth to scream at him, when she noticed what was coming and shut her mouth quickly just as his lips brushed hers. He pressed against her gently, then became more insistent as she stubbornly refused to open her mouth. Then he sighed. "I can be rough if that's what it takes."
His lips pressed against hers again, a little more firmly, and Lina struggled not to respond. Then he swiftly bit down hard on her lower lip, making her cry out, and with a triumphant laugh, slipped his tongue into her mouth, exploring, tasting, teasing. Lina let out a muffled whimper, tasting blood. He moaned, then pulled away again, and gently licked the blood off her lip.
"I forgot your pretty skin was so tender. I'll have to be very careful," he said, languidly slipping a finger under the first button on her shirt. He removed the finger, then made a dramatic show of pulling off his gloves. His warm bare fingers caressed her neck, stroking the little wounds he had left, and she clamped her teeth firmly together, determined not to cry out in front of him again. The finger slid back under the buttons, and Lina watched as his finger popped them off one by one, then tugged the shirt off her shoulders.
"Ouchie, Lina-chan," he said softly, eyes wide, catching what little light was left in the room, a stare flashing light like an owl's eyes. "Just a little pinch here.." His fingers darted out and squeezed her thigh, and she whimpered, losing the battle. "And here..." He pinched her upper arm. Lina became angry, her face flushing. "Stop that," she hissed, twisting his ear. "Oooh," he breathed. "Would you do that again, a little harder this time?"
"NO!" she snarled. He leaned in to kiss her again and she punched him in the face.
"Ouch," he said calmly. "That really wasn't what I was hoping for. But you're learning," he said encouragingly.
He gently pushed Lina back down and laid next to her again, turning her so she faced him. Tugging the blanket down, he wrapped his arms around her, sliding his hands underneath her skirt, gripping the soft flesh tightly.
Lina began to realise what he was positioning her for, and squirmed, trying to keep him off her. "Stop."
"Why?" he asked, caressing her bare skin. She twisted and kicked, and finally sank her teeth into his ear. "Ahhh," he whimpered. "Will you use your nails on me if I ask nicely?" His mouth pushed against hers hungrily, and Lina was surprised when a feral little moan escaped her.
Sheets and clothes became an increasing tangle around them while Xelloss probed gently, trying to find the cause of Lina's reluctance. He soon found it.
"Oh my," he said, truly startled. "I thought that in all this time..Not one?? Not even the dumb blonde?"
"Shut up," Lina sulked. "I'm not free with myself the way you are."
"I'm not free with my favors," Xelloss said with an adorable pout. "I've been saving myself for you," he whispered in her ear.
"You lie," Lina whispered back. "You thought I was dead."
"But I look so good doing it, don't I? I was free in my ...younger days, but now, in my old age, I've become a bit more discriminating..."
Lina pulled his head down and kissed him hard, bringing his attention back to more important matters, and he wriggled to lie on top of her.
It hurt a little. She knew it was going to, but that knowledge didn't prepare her for the burning, stretching, aching feeling that came with his entrance. She held on tight, digging short nails into his skin and bit her lip, wincing as she pressed the wound already there.
Swiftly-it seemed but five seconds-it was over and he was lying beside her again, purring softly.
"Was it nice?" he asked, patting her thigh, sated. His lip turned downwards for just a moment. "You didn't seem very enthusiastic."
"I'm fine," she said, resisting the urge to get up and wash. She was all sticky and her sheets would need changing. Xelloss wrapped the blanket around himself, then tucked the excess around Lina, pulling her close. Lina turned to look out the window, gazing out at the night sky, watching the stars blur into starlines. Xelloss followed her look. "Got your fill of stars?"
"No," she said, turning to him, and burying her head in the warm crease of his neck to hide her tears.
"Bring us Lina Inverse!!"
"Yer crazy!!" an old woman shouted at the mob encamped outside the village walls. "Lina Inverse been dead and gone for hundreds of years now!!!"
"She is alive, and hiding in your village!! Bring her to us and I will spare the rest!!"
Sherra, first General to Dynast Grausherra, one of Shabranigdu's Five, leaned on her sword impatiently, waiting, her teeth set in a bared grimace, a dog tensed, waiting to spring.
When her spies had first brought her the news, she hadn't believed them. Going to the wretched town to see for herself, she merely saw a small black-haired girl, that, true, did resemble the Lina Inverse of yore, but gave no other indication of being the fabled sorceress.
Until she had seen Xelloss Metallium sneaking into the girl's rooms late one night.
The Juujinkan's passion for Lina Inverse had been no real secret among the higher ranks of Mazoku, and Sherra had wondered at first if he wasn't merely sating his body with a Lina lookalike, fulfilling a desire, laying ghosts to rest.
Then she had learned that the girl possessed the Stones of Demonblood, nay, was seen wearing the Stones. That clinched the matter.
When Xelloss had originally given the talismans to Lina Inverse, he had cast a small protection spell on them, allowing none but Lina and himself to wear them. Even a blood descendant of Lina Inverse would not be able to put the shining red stones around her throat.
The knowledge that another of the Five and her son were delibrately shielding an enemy - for Xelloss never did anything that his mother didn't know about - enraged Sherra. With her master's blessing, she arranged a distraction for the Beastmaster and her priest, one that kept them busy for many, many, months. Her army raised and ready to march, secure in the knowledge that Xelloss was busy elsewhere, Sherra went to destroy the sorceress.
Lina was busily preparing dinner when a hasty knock sounded at the door. Smiling sadly, she went to open it, knowing that it wouldn't be Xelloss. He never knocked, preferring instead to drift during the night, and have her wake up to find him next to her in the morning.
It was the owner of the curiousity shop. They had befriended him a while ago and he often dropped by, obstinatiously for some "home cooking" but really to keep an eye on her when Xelloss was away. Which was often.
"Please Celina, you have to leave," he said urgently, his face wet and anxious in the light from the kitchen.
"What it is?" Lina said numbly.
He shook his head very fast, as if to clear it of some troubling thought. "There's some weird army lead by this girl out by the gates. They keep demanding Lina Inverse be brought out to them. Mazoku. They might be confusing you with your ancestor..."
Lina meanwhile was quietly and efficiently gathering up as many of her important possessions as she could carry, a few jewels here, some rare books there, money, clothes. She bundled them into a pack she kept ready, picked up her largest bundle, turned back to face him. "I would fight them, except..except.." she said helplessly, gesturing with the bundle in her arms.
"You can't," he said instantly. "There's far too many for even you to fight. It's not just Lesser Demons there. They've got some large nasty things I've never seen before, and don't want to see again. They came prepared."
"Yes," Lina said, nodding resignedly. "But what will happen to you..if they don't find me...?"
"I wouldn't give a dog over to them, much less a human being. Go now. The longer you wait, the more dangerous it gets. Not just from them," he said, waving an arm towards the front gates, "but also from them..." he said, waving a hand towards the town in general.
"You'll tell Xelloss," she asked, not a question. "Yes," he replied.
"Goodbye," Lina said slowly. He nodded and pushed her towards the door. "Go, go, go."
Lina walked down the stairs slowly, then disappeared into the trees at the edge of town. The old man watched her go, then shook his head. "I'll tell him," he said softly, "if there's anything left for him to come back to...."
Sailoon was busy, bustling even in the middle of the night. People scurried about their business like birds gathering seed, and the constant flow of traffic was enough to give rural newcomers a throbbing pain right between the eyes.
In the Stratton Building, a new row of apartments near the royal palace, the building's newest tenant lugged three bags full of groceries through the door, and slammed it shut. Many whispers had passed through many lips, watchful eyes peered, intent on seeing what this new girl was like.
Much was made of her uncanny resemblance to the notorious Lina Inverse, her atrocious eating habits, and speculation was rampant over the source of her considerable income.
"Ne," Lina Inverse said happily, pouncing on the bags of food, tearing them apart, devoring the contents. From a large bag under her cloak she pulled out several silver coins newly minted with the likeness of Queen Ameria the II.
"Bandits are bandits, no matter what the century," she chortled joyfully, then tossed the entire handful up to the air, just see it fall down, to hear it clank against the floor tiles with a lovely explosion of noise. She laughed uproariously. "They suck!!"
A muffled cry near the fireplace drew her attention. Lina crossed over to the cradle that was placed there, and peered inside, with a guilty look on her face.
"I'm sorry, Miyu-chan," Lina said contritely, stroking the tiny, plump fist. "I didn't mean to wake you."
The baby blinked large amethyst eyes at her mother, then yawned and went back to sleep.
Lina continued to stroke the tiny face for a few moments, then quietly went back to putting away the groceries.