People weren't kidding when they called Sairaag the Ghost City. From Zanaffar's attack, to Copy Rezo's near destruction of the Holy Tree, to Hellmaster's decimation of the population, the city hadn't had it very easy. And now it was a haven to all kinds of monsters.
Some of which were currently chasing a human interloper.
"Dumb, stupid, yogurt-for-brains jellyfish," Lina grumbled and continued describing her very absent bodyguard in several dead languages. "Yeah, great bodyguard. Never around when you need him."
Lina leaped over the bridge railing in front of her, the late afternoon sun in her eyes, and braced for the landing into the long empty street below. As expected, her pursuers, a mixed group of berserkers and trolls, followed.
Lina chanted, summoning the mystic flames to her hand. "Fireball!"
Several of the berserkers fell to the ground, fruitlessly batting at the fire consuming their decaying flesh. The rest were unharmed.
Lina swore again in words highly inappropriate for young people as she began to run again. Her fireball should have turned the whole lot of them into black smears. If things happened as they usually did, she'd be powerless to cast anything but novice level spells by sundown!
"Damn your conniving, twisted games, Xelloss," Lina grumbled and put on more speed as a group of war mantis joined the chase-Lina-through-Sairaag game.
Why did she agree to this stupid assignment?
To keep her spirits up, Lina imagined all sorts of nice painful things to do to the two people she really hated right now. A certain blond swordsman and a smug purple hair Mazoku. Who cares if that Mazoku was also a Mazoku Lord?
With her mind working both on escaping her pursuers and hatching deliciously painful uses of magic spells on a person, she didn't notice the weak ground in front of her. It wasn't weak enough to fall under her slight weight but then there was also that horde chasing her.
All came crashing down into the darkness.
He had been sitting there in the darkness. Time meant nothing to him. The only constants that happened were the lesser Mazokus coming to get free meals. He knew when they tried to sneak in to feast on his anguish and pain and he always chased them away. There was little left for him to value, some of those things were his solitude and privacy.
As such, he was none too pleased when the low rumbling of a ceiling breaking echoed through the halls of his underground home. He knew that several of the rooms had weak support but as he only used a few rooms at most, he never bothered with the others.
The sounds of yelling and cursing drifted through the halls. So the breaking wasn't a fault of time but of something else. It was bad enough with the Mazoku. He didn't need the monsters setting up a lair here.
He stood up, his black cloak disturbing the dust that had settled on him during his long sitting. Unerringly, his pointed ears picked up the correct direction of the sounds and he headed in that way. If he could help it, he didn't resort to his...other special abilities.
After several twists and turns, he ran into the source of trouble. Or more accurately, it ran into him. He had heard the heavy breathing of someone running toward him and had stepped aside to let the person by. But the person tripped and fell into him.
With a nice batch of war mantis, berserkers, and trolls following.
Letting the human collapse to the ground, he unsheathed his long sword. It had been a long time since he had some practice. Plus, he'd be fair. He'd only use half of his speed and no powers.
Still, when it was over, he couldn't consider it much of workout. Now to see what it was that lead those house crashers into his lair. His night vision only told him it was a young human, probably a girl with that long hair. Terrific, it was probably some kid running through the ruins on a dare.
"What are you doing here?"
Lina looked up from rubbing her bleeding shin that she had cut against some sharp rubble when she tripped from stepping in some unseen hole. Running in the dark had NOT been fun but she couldn't use the light enchantment on her sword gem because that would be just like ASKING the monsters to find her.
From the sound of the voice, it wasn't Gourry as she had hoped. Of course it would only have been by the fickle grace of the Golden Eyed Lord that Gourry just might end up here.
However the important thing was that whoever it was, it sounded faintly familiar, something just beyond her grasp. That narrowed the possibilities down from anyone in the world to most likely a rival of hers. Meeting one of them now in her weakened condition would be the icing on someone's cake.
"I could ask the same of you," Lina retorted with a mixture of annoyance and defiance tinging her voice.
Zelgadiss took a mental step back. That voice...
Lina couldn't see much of her rescuer in the darkness. Well, if she was going to be down here for much longer, Lina would rather see what she was dealing with. Shifting a bit, she pulled out her short sword and summoned its enchantment.
"Light."
Broken out of his shock, Zelgadiss began raising his arm in an old habit to cover his face but stopped. The soft diffuse light of the enchanted gem gently illuminated a face he hadn't seen in over five centures except in his reveries.
Lina was able to get a good look of the person standing before her. The light reflected off of the light blue skin and silvery hair. And were those dark gray blotches stone? Too detailed to be a golem. Perhaps then a chimera?
Tentatively, Zelgadiss reached out one hand toward her, expecting the vision to disappear at a single touch, banishing him into darkness again. But just for one touch...
Lina froze as the chimera fell to his knees before her and stretched a trembling hand toward her. What was he up to? His fingers brushed her face gently. The stone skin was smooth and surprisingly warm.
Zel nearly choked as his heart jumped into his throat. The vision didn't disappear, not like countless times before. The skin was warm, soft like he remembered. This wasn't a dream. This was real. She was real. And here.
"Wha - " Lina squeaked as the chimera suddenly embraced her. What was going on?!
"Lina..."
His low velvet voice murmured her name. She kind of liked the way it sounded but wait a minute this wasn't the time or place for this kind of thing! Her free hand groped on the ground for a rock.
No this one was too small.
She shifted through some more stones.
This one was about the size of her hand...nah.
Now this one was about the largest heaviest rock she could hold in one hand. That will do.
"Let go of me!" Lina yelled, smashing the large stone into the chimera's head. "Pervert!"
Zel crashed into the floor with the large rock about the size of his head following. Even through his stone skin he felt the splitting headache coming. A part of him reveled in the pain, the other part wanted to crawl into a hole and sleep it off.
Lina tried to put as much space between herself and him as possible. It wasn't very far since she was backed up against a wall. She wasn't sure if her bleeding leg could support her if she wanted to chance running away. And her magic power was slipping away with daylight.
"How do you know my name? Who are you?" Lina demanded, holding the short sword between her and the chimera. Of course, her blade may not be enchanted enough to cut a chimera but it was reassuring to have something between her and him.
Her first reaction was sort of expected. Zel was more surprised that she didn't just fireball him. But then, giving how tightly he had been holding her she couldn't have cast a spell without enveloping herself as well. Zel sat up rubbing his head.
"Stop joking around Lina. I haven't changed that much over the past 500 years and you certainly haven't."
Lina blinked. 500 years...? Chimera? "You...you're Zelgadiss..."
He could clearly sense that she was confused. Why? Did she really forget him? Did she forget that night?
"You're that Mazoku Lord that killed Zelgadiss Graywords 500 years ago and has been using his name and appearance aren't you?" Lina accused, pointing the sword point first at the imposter.
Now it was Zel's turn to blink. What...
"No wonder they call you the bogeyman if you always wander around in the dark like this," Lina glared. "Still they never mentioned that you were a pervert and rapist as well."
Hey now... Zelgadiss facefaulted.
"I guess there are somethings they don't even want children to know."
The stone words of 'imposter', 'bogeyman', 'pervert', and 'rapist' fell on Zelgadiss's head one after another.
Lina began cursing all of the unlucky stars she knew. First Xelloss and now this Zelgadiss imposter. What was it with her and Mazoku Lords anyway? She wondered if the original Lina felt like this after dealing with Chaos Dragon Gaav and Hellmaster Fibrizo.
Zelgadiss's head was whirling with questions and old memories dredged up from the the depths of his mind, not to mention a headache from all of those pieces of stone landing on his head. However, practicality and common sense won out first. A hallway in a very unstable part of an underground complex was not a suitable or safe place to be holding a conversation.
"Get up," Zel told her, standing up gingerly. He could easily banish the headache but for the same reason he didn't use his Mazoku powers he didn't.
Lina glared at him, not moving until he had taken several steps back. She kept her glowing blade between them as she slowly stood up with the help of the wall. Testing the weight of her bleeding leg, Lina was relieved to find that nothing important had been cut. However, walking was going to be rather slow going.
"What do you want?" Lina asked, looking at the Mazoku Lord standing just on the edge of her light.
"Follow me. This isn't a safe place," Zel said shortly.
Lina rolled her eyes.
"Your leg is...alright?" he asked looking away, pretending to be scouting the hallway ahead.
"Alright enough." And if she didn't have such little magic left she could have healed it and been on her way out of here.
"Then come along," Zel began walking down the hall he used to get here. "Don't even think of running away, it won't work. These halls are infested with Mazoku."
"And you're my only guarantee of avoiding them," Lina finished with a sting of sarcasm. Lovely choices. Even if he was lying about Mazoku being down here, he could just as easily make them appear. She couldn't defeat a Mazoku even on her best days. "Stuck between a rock and a hard place."
"Hurry it up," Zel called impatiently, stopping to look back at her. "Or do I have to carry you?"
"No thanks," Lina growled, forcing herself to walk faster and to stop favoring her injured leg. There was no way she'd let anyone carry her, even if both of her legs were broken and she had to crawl on her elbows. "I don't suppose you mind if I keep a light on?"
"As you please."
Lina trudged behind the Imposter holding her glowing sword high to shine on all of the jagged rubble that was just waiting to trip her again. Even if her leg hadn't been all cut up like it was, she would have been hard pressed to keep up with the Imposter.
As he turned down a branching corridor, Lina pulled out a stick of chalk to mark the wall. She wanted to know the way out if necessary.
"Forget it." There was no trace of the emotions that had colored his voice earlier. "I don't need the world to know how to go through here."
He took the piece of chalk and in one hand, crushed it to dust. Brushing off his hands, he continued walking.
Lina scowled and kept on trudging.
Against her better judgement, she was following a Mazoku Lord deeper into gods know where underneath Sairaag. But then, if she listened to her better judgement, she would never have been within a stone's throw of Sairaag near that time of month. She would never have accepted jobs from another Mazoku Lord. She would never have taken the name of Lina Inverse as her own.
When you look at it in that light, she was acting perfectly normally.
If she couldn't mark her path then maybe she could try remembering it. Lina quickly studied and committed to memory any distinct features in the underground hallways. Soon though, she was too caught up in trying to place the time period of the carvings.
Zelgadiss was slightly relieved when Lina or at least the girl who looked exactly like Lina had quieted down. She acted and looked like Lina right down to the clothes but she didn't seem to know him at all. And those outrageous accusations. Well, they were certainly going to have a very long talk when they arrived at his lair.
A faint crumbling caught his ear. Where was it coming from? Not from below. To his knowledge, there were no burrowing monsters in Sairaag. Oh crap, not the ceiling again.
"Lina!"
Lina looked up at the sound of her name, her inspection of a crumbling mural disturbed.
"Wha-ah!" Lina's question turned to gasp as Zelgadiss grabbed her arm.
The whole area was collapsing! He wasn't going to lose her again. Not like before. Zel held Lina tightly against him, covering her with his black cloak as they melted into the darkness. Layers of stone crashed into the hallway they had been in.
Lina was still stammering when the two reappeared in Zel's lair. She clung to Zel's shirt, not from any need for comfort or other sentimental reason but because her stomach was doing flip flops in zero gravity.
Zel on the other hand was quite fine from the teleportation even if he hadn't used it for...what was it, several centuries? This one time, and probably only this time, he was grateful for those powers. Otherwise he might have lost her again.
He was still holding her and he had no reason to let go. Slowly, almost timidly, he stroked her silky long hair.
When Lina had convinced her stomach that her feet were in fact on solid ground, she opened her eyes again. The hand stroking her hair, the sensation was familiar but she couldn't remember anyone, not even Grandma, doing it. Perhaps it was from her forgotten past.
Lina gave herself a mental shake. She had resolutely given up her lost memories. No regrets there. There was only the present and the future to look toward.
"You can let go now," Lina said wryly and added in a much lower voice. "Pervert."
Zel still heard that but he stepped back, reluctantly letting her go. She in turn also moved away, her sword, which was amazingly still in her hand, held at ready. Lina's eyes darted around the room, trying to locate the quickest way out.
With a snap of his fingers, Zel summoned the light globes hung around the room to light up. He was accustomed to darkness but she certainly wasn't. Lina's eyes stung briefly from the bright light before readjusting.
The room was quite bare, it could have once been a storeroom. There weren't any signs of habitation. It was the exact opposite of Xelloss's extravagent flamboyant lifestyle back in Merilyth.
Zelgadiss watched her examine the room. The questions swirled around his head but he supposed that he might as well start at the beginning.
"Who are you?"
Lina stopped looking around the room and fixed her gaze on the Imposter. There was no point in lying but he already knew what her name was. "You already know."
Zel crossed his arms. "Humor me."
"Lina."
"Lina what?" Zel continued patiently.
"Inverse."
Well that was something new, brevity in speech.
"And is that your real name?"
"That's the only name I lay claim to," Lina snapped. What was he up to? "What about you? What's your real name?"
Zel frowned. "I don't know where you got the idea that I'm a Mazoku pretending to be Zelgadiss but you've been misinformed."
"First is denial," Lina retorted. "When you're pretending to be someone else, you always deny the truth."
"I am and have always been Zelgadiss Graywords."
Lina snorted. "You've been pretending for so long that you've convinced yourself that you're him. You Mazoku really are crazy. And in your case Imposter, a pervert as well."
"Don't call me Imposter. And what's with this 'pervert' business?" Zel growled, beginning to lose his temper.
"Hello? A complete stranger suddenly grabs me in a hug. What else is he other than a pervert? Imposter."
"I am NOT an imposter. Lina don't you remember anything at all? All the times we've traveled together? Defeating Rezo? Fighting Gaav and Fibrizo? Fighting Val and Dark Star? The Second Kouma War?"
With each question, Zelgadiss stepped closer to Lina until he was right in front of her. With one hand, he pushed aside Lina's sword and the other hand gently trailed down Lina's face. "The night before we challenged the Destroyer?"
Lina stared wide-eyed at the disturbingly close Mazoku Lord. She pushed the enticing caress and the Mazoku's handsome face out of her mind. He is a Mazoku. Perhaps backtalking to him wasn't the best idea but it was almost second nature to her. He really did seem to believe that he was Zelgadiss Graywords. That delusion though could be a double-edged sword. "I...I have no idea what you're talking about."
Zel looked deeply into her ruby eyes. They said eyes were windows to the souls. Mazokus knew this to be true. And what Zel saw could have broken his heart if he thought he still had one. There was no recognition, no love, no friendship, nothing except wariness and well-hidden fear.
He stepped back and turned away, a long forgotten burning stinging his eyes as the cloud of anguish descended again to envelope him. So much like Lina that it hurt him deep inside. A ghost of someone he had lost so long ago. How appropiate to meet one in the City of Ghosts.
Lina began to breath again when the Imposter stepped away. Gods she had been terrified. If he had tried to do anything, she was powerless to stop him. And she HATED being powerless. Perhaps she should change tactics and try humoring him for a change. If she wanted to get out of here alive, it'll have to be with her being on his good side, as much as Mazokus have good sides. He could easily kill her before she took a step.
Sheathing her sword which was no good against a Mazoku anyway, she walked slowly toward the Imposter. But she had been pushing her wounded leg too far and it failed her as she neared him. Stumbling, she grabbed onto his cloak for support. He quickly turned his face away from her.
Lina blinked. Perhaps it was the light globe's reflecting off of his skin or were those tears she saw streaming down his face? Xelloss, Lina had seen, still seemed to retain some human emotions. Perhaps this one had convinced himself too well that the identity he stole was truly his own.
But perhaps she was just seeing things since when he looked again at her, there were no traces of tears or much else.
"Your leg?"
"Just a scratch," Lina gritted through her teeth. She limped over to an old wooden box. When it didn't immediately fall to dust after placing her hand on it, she sat down gingerly. Carefully pulling off the blood-stained boot, Lina grimaced at the mess of old and new blood mixed with dirt and small pebbles. She'll need to wash it off before bandaging it.
Zelgadiss pretended he wasn't watching the girl wash the dirt from the deep gash in her leg. Why didn't she just use a spell? She was obviously a sorceress but then, she didn't cast any spells at those other monsters earlier.
Lina hesitated about ripping part of her cloak to use as a bandage. But she didn't have any clean cloths to use to bind the long wound. Well, beggars can't be choosers. She ripped a long strip of black cloth and began to wrap her shin. It was difficult trying to keep the cloth from touching the ground though.
"Let me do that."
Lina looked up in surprise at the Imposter but he didn't look at her. He simply took the bandage from her hand and quickly bound her leg.
"You're a sorceress. Why don't you heal yourself?" he muttered.
Lina's hackles raised. "Perhaps I don't feel like it." He just had to bring up this topic.
"Or maybe...you don't have the power to do so. That time of month?"
"Shut up!" Lina threw a fist at him which he easily dodged.
"In which case, it wouldn't be advisable for you to leave here," Zelgadiss turned around.
"What? You're giving me a choice?" Lina grumbled.
"Without your magic and that injury you'll get killed up there," Zel settled down on the other side of the room.
"Like you care," Lina muttered.
Zel flinched. "Either way, you'd best get to sleep. If you want to leave tomorrow, I'll drop you off outside of the city ruins."
"Leave here yes but not before I get my hands on that book."
"Book?"
Lina decided that it couldn't hurt anything to tell him. Since he lived here he might know where the Book of Zoana was. "I came here looking for a magic book held by a cult of monsters. Do you know anything?"
"No."
Lina fell over.
"You live here don't you? What do you mean you don't know anything?" Lina looked at him in disbelief. Xelloss knew everything that happened in Merilyth, even which noble lady stuffed her dress and who was the real father of the mayor's son.
"I don't concern myself with them," Zelgadiss replied crossing his arms. Outside of the room, he could sense the Lesser Mazoku gathering again to feed off his emotions. He extended his aura which was usually wrapped tightly around himself to touch the ravenous Mazoku. Usually he drove them away just to keep from being bothered. Now however he wasn't going to let them near this girl that reminded him too much of Lina.
Lina pulled her cape around her as the air became heavy with power. Her skin felt clammy and damp. The Imposter was glowing, literally, appearing more demonic. If she ever had doubts as to whether he was a Mazoku, this smothering power of darkness erased them. As a black magic user, Lina oftened channeled these same dark energies though on a much smaller scale. She didn't want to know how Mazokus were able to practically live on it.
"What were you doing?" Lina dared to ask after the oppressing aura dissipated and the Imposter looked more like a chimera and less like a demon.
"Driving away some unwanted guests. Nothing will touch you here," Zelgadiss said, extinguishing the light globes.
"Not even you?" Lina asked disbelievingly.
Zel looked at her through the darkness and then closed his eyes. The memories of that last night appeared painfully clear in his mind. "As you wish..."
Lina barely heard his answer but she supposed it was reassuring enough. If the Imposter was really into his role as Zelgadiss, then he'd likely keep to his word. As she had heard, the chimera's word had never been broken. Still if Gourry hadn't wandered off, she wouldn't have been in this mess.
"Achoo!" Gourry sneezed. He huddled before the small fire. "Tonight is going to be cold. Don't you guys agree?"
The swordsman was addressing the piles of dead monsters around him. They had nothing to add. There weren't any monsters left alive.
Lina woke with a start. The wisps of a dream slipped through her fingers leaving only the echoes of a scream already faint. What was that about?
She sat up stiffly. Sleeping against a wooden boxes was a sure way to get rheumatism at a young age. Stretching to loosen her tense muscles, Lina looked through the dimness to where she could barely make out the seated figure of the Imposter.
Oh yeah. The great old Mazoku Lord is there.
Lina leaned forward and reached for her toes. A sharp pain lanced up her right leg. Lina winced, biting her lip to keep quiet.
"Is something wrong?"
The light globes lit up. Zelgadiss stood up and walked over to where Lina sat. Her leg didn't look any different. Kneeling, he probed the wound. Lina hissed in pain. Zel ripped off the bandage to find the wound swollen.
"Looks like it's infected," Zel frowned.
"Really?" Lina said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Zel ignored her, Lina was always peevish when she was injured or ill. Though he had learned Recovery a long time ago, he couldn't cast any white magic now. And Lina couldn't cast anything beyond a Lighting. Which left only one option.
"What's the nearest city?" Zel asked shortly.
Lina turned away and struggled to stand up. "There is no way I'm leaving here without the book. Or without my Sword of Light."
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Zel shook his head. "I saw Lei Magnus hand Gourry a new Sword of Light over 500 years ago. Why would you have it? Unless..." Zel looked at Lina. "Don't tell me..."
"Gourry Gabriev the Third is wandering around up there," Lina said, trying to keep her voice normal. She could barely stand on her right leg now.
Zel looked at Lina trying to see if she was pulling his leg. She wasn't. Well...the Gabriev family was just trying to honor an ancestor. Now if this Gourry the Third actually looks like Gourry then things would be weird. Zel looked back at Lina and revised that thought. Things were already weird.
"There's no way you'll be able to walk on that leg."
Lina defiantly took several steps away from Zel before putting a hand on the wall to support herself.
"Not for very long anyway," Zel scowled. Why was she always this stubborn? "You're going to the nearest town for healing. I'll go and find this Gourry."
"No!" Lina yelled, then continued in a slightly calmer voice. "I'm going too. And if you drop me outside of here, I'll just come right back in."
"Not if you're asleep," Zel muttered, the enchantment at his fingertips.
"Oh no you - " Lina held up her hands to counter the spell when the ground vanished beneath her. "What!"
"Lina!" Zel yelled as she vanished through the black hole. Not again. He teleported.
Above ground, Lina blinked rapidly to remove the sunspots in her vision. The large hand gripping her throat squeezed, cutting off not only her air but blood as well. She began to see stars in addition to the sunspots. Pulling futilely at the hand around her neck, Lina gave a sharp kick to where she figured the arm should be.
Something laughed. "You think that can do anything to me?" A tongue flicked across her cheek. "Seems that Zelgadiss is attached to you. You know Mazoku really hate losing what's theirs. We're really possessive."
Lina tried to gasp for air as the hand around her neck closed. Darkness had almost completely enveloped her except for one single point of light that kept growing smaller. She rasped a word.
Zelgadiss appeared on the surface, the first time in over three centuries. The ruins hadn't really changed that much, maybe a few more toppled buildings. He quickly spotted Lina being held by the throat over jagged rubble by the Mazoku that dared to cross him.
"Lina."
Zelgadiss vanished again, ready to destroy the Mazoku for taking Lina from him. She was too still, too pale.
The Mazoku let the human go when he saw the Mazoku Lord vanish. Either the human or the Mazoku, the Mazoku Lord would lose with either choice. There wasn't time for both.
Zelgadiss phased in right behind the Mazoku, his long sword slicing through creature's physical presence into it's astral form.
"Too late," it hissed before discorporating.
Too late Zelgadiss saw Lina falling toward the rocks below. Old fears and memories paralyzed him, preventing him from moving to save her, leaving him helpless only to watch her plumment. Unable to stand the onslaught of memories, he shut his eyes.
Again. Again it was happening. Again he failed.
"Hey, Lina! Lina! This isn't anytime to be sleeping," called a familiar voice.
Zel's eyes opened. He looked down to the ground. There lay Lina cradled in the arms of the blond swordsman that had caught her. For a moment, Zel felt like he had slipped back through time. This was all too familiar. Always it had been him that had saved Lina, while he could do nothing.
Even now, things didn't change.
Gourry looked at the girl in confusion. He wasn't sure exactly why she had been falling but it was a very good thing he just happened to be passing by. The slight fall of pebbles brought his attention to the man standing before him.
The stranger wasn't as tall as him but there was an otherworldly aura to him. And it wasn't just the stranger's entirely black dress or blue skin. Gourry's mind told him what the stranger was, a Mazoku.
"Another one?" Gourry mumbled to himself, getting up, still holding Lina in his arms. "And who are you?"
Zelgadiss looked over Gourry's descendent who looked exactly like the Gourry he knew. He wondered if the resemblance was only skin deep.
"Zelgadiss," Zel answered briefly and nodded toward Lina. "How is she?"
Gourry looked down at Lina. "She seems alright."
Lina stirred in his arms. "Damn it," she rasped. Covering her eyes from the sunlight, she blinked confusedly at the cheery face looking down at her.
"So you're finally awake," Gourry beamed.
Lina blinked and then hit him with an uppercut. "Where have you been you idiot!"
He dropped Lina and stumbled backwards. Lina hit the ground on her bad leg.
"Itai!" Lina winced, curling up at the pain.
Immediately Zel was at her side. He lifted her carefully off of her wounded leg and set her down gently again as to not worsen the wound. The drop did not help the exposed leg wound. Zel glared darkly at Gourry who was rubbing his sore chin.
Lina looked at the reopened wounds on her leg. She'd need to clean them again and wrap it before she could do anything else.
"Gourry give me your waterskin," Lina demanded.
"But there isn't anything in it," Gourry protested at the same time Zel said, "You don't have any time for this."
"What do you mean we don't have time and what do you mean you don't have anymore water?" Lina asked both of the men.
Zel picked up Lina. "Gourry come here and hold tightly to my arm."
Both Lina and Gourry looked at him strangely.
"What?" Gourry asked, scratching his head.
Zel gritted his teeth. "Just do it so we can get out of here."
"Okay," Gourry shrugged.
"What do you mean get out of here?" Lina demanded. "And put me down!"
"Not likely," Zel snorted as he teleported the group out of the ruins.
In the quiet town of Zanboa, things were not as quiet as usual. One reason being a young sorceress who was storming out of the local healer's hut. She burst into a tavern and marched right up to a pair of young men sitting at a table.
For a moment, Lina paused, trying to decide who deserved to be hit first. Gourry for being his usual idiotic self or the Imposter for carrying her here. No, the Imposter had the larger crime.
Lina threw a punch at him, which as she expected he dodged, and then kicked the chair out from underneath him. Gourry only briefly paused in his eating to watch.
"Ne, Lina, aren't you being rather mean to him? He did save us," Gourry said in between swallows.
Lina stole his plate of food. "And who asked to be saved?"
"Your leg isn't complaining," Zel noted coolly, righting his chair.
Lina plopped into her chair with a puff. "Like it matters. I'm still going back in there to get that book. There's money riding on this." She fended off Gourry's attempts to reclaim his plate of stolen food.
Zelgadiss sipped his mug. Odd how easily he fell back into old, very old, habits. "What is this book you keep talking about?"
Lina stabbed a fork into the stolen pasta dish and pulled a huge bundle of noodles. She swallowed it before answering. "The Book of Zoana from the kingdom of Zoana that was destroyed by Lina Inverse 500 or so years ago."
"You mean this?" Zelgadiss pulled out said book from his cape.
"Where did you get that?" Lina cried, making a swipe at the book which Zel held out of her reach.
"Here and there," Zel shrugged. Actually, he's had it ever since Zoana's destruction and just forgot about it.
"Let me have it!" Lina tried to get the book from him.
"Why? Do you even know what this book is about?" Zel asked, fending off Lina's hands.
"Who cares? I know that it'll bring in a bundle at an auction." Lina paused her grabbing to throw a knife at Gourry when he made a grab for the pasta plate. "Plus, I'll need it to prove that I've been to Sairaag so I can collect my share of the wager."
"What wager?"
"That I couldn't go to Sairaag and come back alive."
"You almost didn't," Zel said darkly, putting the book back under his cape. "Do you have any idea what danger you're in now?"
Lina and Gourry looked at each other and shrugged.
"Lina, did that Mazoku say anything to you?"
Lina thought back. "I'm not sure but I think he was saying something about Mazokus being possessive." She didn't add the part about Zelgadiss being attached to her.
Zel sighed. "You most likely don't know this but there are two factions of Mazoku."
"One that follows Lei and the one that doesn't."
"So you do know," Zel didn't sound too surprised. "The Mazoku that attacked you was trying to get me. The renegades may begin to target you as well."
Great. Joy. Lina was going to stuff that fruitcake into a bottle when she got back to Merilyth for getting her into this mess.
"And this has something to do with why you're still here," Lina gave the Mazoku Lord a pointed look.
"I'm certainly not returning to Sairaag now that the renegades have learned I was there," Zel sipped his drink. "Speaking of Sairaag, why did you think the Book of Zoana was there?"
"That's what your fellow Lord told us," Lina finished her pasta in two large forks. Gourry watched mournfully.
"Who?"
"Xelloss," Lina said, watching the Imposter tense. There didn't seem to be much love lost between these two.
Zelgadiss should have figured that it would have been the fruitcake behind all of this. When they met again he was going to have a very nice and very violent talk with his fellow Mazoku.
"Alright then. If you want the book then you can get it on this condition. I'll accompany you back to meet Xelloss."
Lina bit her lip. She'd still be powerless for several more days. And if she was going to become a target for the renegade Mazokus, after all she's been with two of the Mazoku Lords that support Lei, then she supposed she was going to need a lot of power. And what was better than a wielder of the Sword of Light and a Mazoku Lord?
"Okay, it's a deal. Let's seal it with six portions of the Chicken House Special!"
Gourry raised his fork and knife in support.
Zelgadiss shook his head and looked into this cup, lost in memories and regrets of the past.