Lina looked out at the murky drizzle on the other side of the rain-splattered glass window. She was in the Saillune Royal Public Library with several stacks of books on demonology, supernatural creatures, and monster ecology all over the thick oak desk. Unlike her employer, Lina wasn't as convinced that there was a vampire now haunting, or rather, hunting the streets.
Heck, she wasn't even sure why her employer was so fixated on it being a vampire except for perhaps some unexplainable gentry quirk to make the mysterious dramatically romantic.
Not that Lina thought vampires were 'dramatically romantic'. The only vampire she ever had the misfortune of meeting had only just woken up from its sleep and looked like a dried up husk with broken talons, large fangs, tufts of hair, and that really deathly, sickly pale skin, none of which bring to mind thoughts of romance. Just remembering about it made Lina queasy in the stomach. Only idiots with mold for brains could think that the entire vampire and sucking blood thing was enticing.
For one thing, the undead all reek of rot to high heaven.
She closed another musty book that had yielded no answers to that vague and questionable description given by the half-mad invalid Appleby. There simply wasn't enough information. Dark wings and golden eyes? Besides the stereotypical demon, there could be any number of supernatural creatures that could assume a form of their choosing, dark wings and glowing eyes included. To say nothing of the occurrence of unique creatures, through pacts of evil or weird experimentation, who might end up with such, how to put it, distinguishing features.
Well, bloodsucking would give some credit to the assumption that she was chasing after a vampire but vampires weren't the only creatures known for doing it. They just had a good relationship with the press. But then, if it was a vampire, he was being hideously sloppy in his eating habits. Vampire crime scenes were supposed to be characterized by the lack of blood.
Lina wracked her brain for the reason why she was doing this investigation. Yes the money was good and timely. It was supposed to be a simple case, find the nutcase who killed everyone on the ship. Complications included the fact that everyone that was supposed to be on the ship was accounted for, that there was nothing obviously or not-so-obviously wrong with the cargo, and that she had to be working under a person whose only purpose in life was to make her life miserable.
Why he chose her in particular Lina never knew and would never ask the source directly. That would be an indication to him that he was getting to her and Lina didn't want him getting the right impression. But there were probably hundreds of girls willing to jump into Zelgadiss's arms, literally and figuratively. What made a normal albeit highly magically talented girl from Zefilia so special?
Lina smacked her head on a book. Why the hell was she thinking about that?? Back to work, back to work. The sooner I get this case solved, the sooner I can get away from that control freak.
Picking up a book and pretending to open it to read, Lina snuck a glance out of the corner of her eye. The painfully obvious shadow of the shadow that had been tailing her all day was still there, pinching himself to stave away the boredom. One of the servants of that stuck-up blue blood? Or someone else entirely, perhaps interested in the case she was working on?
That ship had not blown up by accident and Lina had some pain she wanted to return to the person responsible. That and she needed some exercise and stress relief. She decided she had enough dry research. It was time for more...tried and true methods of getting information.
The hard way.
Zelgadiss turned aside and sneezed. Hmmm, must be from standing next to the damp window. He took another sip from his wine glass, more out of boredom than anything else. These high social functions were all the same more or less. For eligible handsome young men like himself, really he was only being truthful, they were endless parades of young debutantes and their mothers trying to score a rich husband. The Graywords' reputation for eccentricity aside, they were rich and that was enough for most gold-coin-eyed unmarried maidens.
Well, he hadn't gotten himself shackled to anyone yet, no doubt due in part to the fact that his parents had shown no inclination in getting any of their children hitched. If his mother's thoughts ever traveled to wedding bells, well, he always heard the western continent was nice.
To pass the time away, he tried to imagine what kind of man would marry his younger sister, and failing that, what tricks Terisa would pull to snare a husband of her choice. That was the more likely scenario considering how she just seemed to emit an aura that sent men, and most women, in the opposite direction in terror.
He must get her to teach him that trick.
And to think that right now he could be out stalking, er observing Lina at her work. One would think she didn't know how to enjoy herself with the work hours she kept. For example, she could be keeping him company right now, either here or...elsewhere. His grin was positively devilish or wolfish. Whichever it was, it deterred at least two sets of mother-daughter husband-hunting pairs headed in his direction.
A ripple of murmurs moved through the party guests as another guest arrived fashionably late. Her angular features and long pointed-ears may deceive some people into thinking she was an elf, rare as they were to be seen in a human city, but the people of Saillune knew better. This was Filia Ul Copt, the Gold Dragon who had been making newspaper headlines on a near daily basis since her arrival one month ago.
The novelty had yet to wear off among the status-conscious upper crust of the city.
Because he really had nothing else to do, Zelgadiss kept his eye on the dragon, trying to fathom the reason she had come here with no inclinations toward leaving. The only clan of Gold Dragons in this part of the continent was further north in the kingdom of Dils but she had come from outside of the peninsula.
Outside of the peninsula...the Outer World even...
If he wasn't such an arrogant, conceited rascal convinced of his own superiority, he might have kicked himself for not putting that possible connection together earlier. A Gold Dragon must have some reason for coming here; she had even met with the young Queen Amelia if he remembered correctly shortly after her arrival.
Zelgadiss began weaving his way through the throng of gossiping and scheming guests, cutting off any protests with a cool glare or charming smile as was appropriate while running through an appropriate devastating method of gaining an audience with the popular Gold Dragon.
Unfortunately, someone else had a more spectacular way of getting her attention.
Every window on the west wall of the ballroom shattered, the shards flying into the room and cutting the guests closest to them. The strong stormy wind howled into the gaiety, raising screams, more because of ruined clothes and hairstyles than from anything else. Half of the lights flickered out; the remaining magical ones fighting valiantly to remain lit but the disturbance was not simply a natural one.
"Hiding among the cattle?"
The deep voice shook the room, knocking nearly everyone to the floor with its power. In fact, only three people remained standing. One was of course Zelgadiss, barely that is. The other was Filia, almost as white as her lavish gown of satin and lace, hands clenched tightly at her sides. The third was standing before the two of them, one slim arm still held up after diverting the blast from the two behind her. The deep hood and flowing cloak hid her face from everyone.
Outside, illuminated against the misty streetlights was a dark-winged figure, hovering nonchalantly before the broken windows. Zelgadiss had to admit he fit the description, dark feathered wings, aqua hair, and glowing golden eyes. He would have to add the flair of the dramatic.
"An acquaintance?" the gentleman asked Filia conversationally as he brushed off some imaginary dirt from his sleeve. "He could have simply announced himself at the door like a proper gentleman. Unless of course this is tonight's entertainment. I must admit the Burgundy do throw the most interesting parties."
"Protectors?" the winged stranger mocked. "My how much of your pride did you have to bite off to go that low? Perhaps your tongue? You're unusually quiet this fair evening." He bowed to her though there was no respect behind the gesture.
Filia snapped a string of unintelligible words, unintelligible to Zelgadiss at least since the flying vampire(?) outside only laughed.
"Such language! Your parents and elders would die all over again if they heard you speaking like that. I'm sure they'll give you a sound thrashing, after I send you to meet them!"
He pulled back his hand to throw the ball of red energy that had been growing there while he had been speaking.
"Fireball!!"
The large ball of flame, completely ignoring the rain pouring around it, barreled toward the winged man. Too close to avoid, he instead threw his own ball of energy at it.
"Down!!" ordered the hooded woman, in a voice very familiar to Zelgadiss.
He didn't argue though, anyone with some sense knew that the impact of two volatile balls of energy resulting in an even bigger explosion. Well, he really couldn't expect anything less from Lina. Zelgadiss just hoped his suit wouldn't get singed.
"Even an apprentice knows better than to throw two balls of energy at each other!!" Lina fumed, toweling her hair from her soak. The walls on both side of that street were now streaked black, windows shattered. "It isn't my fault he did something so stupid!"
Unfortunately, the mysterious stranger had disappeared in the aftermath of the explosions, leaving four people with a lot of explaining to do to the authorities. Or rather, just the hooded individual who apparently carried some weight with the police. She had Zelgadiss, Lina, and Filia isolated to one of the guestrooms.
"Do you need some help drying off?"
It was a completely innocent question, if asked by anyone but Zelgadiss. Lina gave him a look that would freeze a volcano and returned to toweling and padding herself dry from her run through the wet streets. If she had known he was going to be here, she probably wouldn't have bothered rushing here in the first place.
Before he could get in another subtle attempt of flirting, someone knocked on the door and without waiting came in. It was the hooded, cloaked person from earlier, who let in another hooded, smaller person first before entering herself and closing the door.
"Well, Terisa, do you mind explaining why you're playing cloak and dagger?" Zelgadiss asked brightly, a perfect imitation of Jedah.
"What?!" Lina squeaked.
The original person pulled back her hood, letting spill out the long blonde hair with its telltale violet streak. She treated her brother a cool, speculative look. Filia, who had been sitting quietly in an armchair, was not surprised thought her eyes were fixed on the fifth person in the room.
"I heard that my dear brother had hired you again, Lina. He hasn't done anything untoward to you has he?"
"Not for lack of trying," the redhead replied sourly.
Terisa smiled briefly. "If he ever gets out of hand, just tell me. I'll give you some pointers."
Despite himself, Zelgadiss felt a shiver down his back. When Terisa smiles, it is rarely a good thing, especially not when he is the topic of the conversation.
"But that isn't the reason why you are all gathered here," the daughter of the Graywords said briskly, returning to business. "It appears that your business brother has become entangled in ours."
"And what business would that be?"
Terisa did not rise to the bait. She had not grown up with her brother all of these years without learning how to deal with him. "My superior has expressed a desire to meet with you, believing it to be best for all involved." She gestured to the fifth person with a short bow.
"I believe I am familiar to you all." The voice was young, younger than Lina, and quite cheerful. The hood was pushed back to reveal a well-known face framed by short black hair.
"Your Majes -- "
"Shhhhhhhhh!!!" she quickly hushed them. "I'm incognito right now," whispered the young queen. "No one is supposed to know I'm outside of the palace right now."
Considering the distance between the palace and where they were, Lina figured that the queen wasn't outside just because of this little incident. She must have the wanderlust that her father was rumored to have.
"Your majesty..." Filia finally spoke, though in a very tight voice. At first Lina thought she might be angry, and she wasn't sure she wanted to see an angry Gold Dragon at ground zero, but then she realized Filia was only trying to control her trembling. "You said I would be-"
"Yes I did. But I suppose it could hardly be helped that he found out where you were so soon. You haven't exactly been very...quiet."
Filia had the decency to blush.
"But fear not! As Queen of Saillune, Defender of the Meek, Protector of the Innocent, Hammer of Justice, I will not allow that fiend to lay one finger upon you! So I have sworn and so I swear again!!"
Lina sweatdropped. The queen had leaped onto the table during her speech and was now pointing at a corner of the room. She was secretly pleased to note that not even Zelgadiss could quite hide his astonishment at the behavior of their ruler.
"So then," Lina interrupted politely, however that is done, "how does that involve us?" She nearly bit her tongue as she realized what she said. Damn it, why did she have to associate herself with that scoundrel. Zelgadiss only smiled, as if knowing exactly what she was thinking.
Amelia jumped with a twirl off of the table. "Of course it involves you two. Just because I am the queen doesn't mean I can break rules left and right so I can hardly break the working contract between you and Mister Graywords right now." She smiled cutely. "So instead I'm 'asking' that you join Terisa in her duties guarding Filia."
Lina could only stare.
Chapter 6 | Fanfiction