Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Birth Rite ❯ 6 ( Chapter 6 )

Title: Birth Rite - Chapter 6 of ??

THIS IS THE REWRITTEN VERSION - 1/2/06

Author: Tsutsuji

Date written: December 2005; edited January 2006

Fandom: Slayers!

Pairing Xelloss/Zelgadis

Rating: R - M - for mature teens and older

Disclaimers and other warnings in Chapter 1

Spell checked, self-beta'd. Please inform me of typos or other errors. In fact, all feedback and reviews are much appreciated! Thanks!

 

Summary: After the attack of the book burners, there's another change of plans, and then, another surprising discovery. EDITED 1/06, because I forgot to include some stuff that's going on in Xelloss' head. Nothing is simple anymore...

 

---

Birth Rite Chapter 6

---

 

***

"A Monster simply can't go against the orders of its superior," the Sorcerer said thoughtfully. "Not unless something very strange has happened to it, some spell that I can't even imagine. Not even the strongest magic I know could cause a Monster to rebel against its Master."

 

"Maybe there's something stronger than your strongest magic," the Swordsman said, scratching his head in a puzzled way.

 

The Sorcerer laughed at him, just as she always did. "What force in the world could be stronger than that?" she said, slapping him on the back. But she seemed a little worried that for once, he might be right.

 

--- From Book 5: The Princess of Fate and the Deceptive Dragon

 

***

 

Xelloss stood still, gazing down at the cove, or out at the sea; his eyes were hidden behind the hair that the wind had blown into his face. Zelgadis could only see his frown.

 

"I suppose I should have left one of them alive to question, in case there's another squadron..." Xelloss murmured. Then he shrugged and turned his back on the cove.

 

Zelgadis clutched the arrow shaft and grimaced. More than metal pierced his flesh. He suddenly thought of a smiling, apologetic little man who had sliced his stone skin with a jewel-edged blade, and then of a grinning madman holding a spear pointed at his heart. Zuller's spear had been enchanted so that it could pierce the stone flesh of a rock golem, but there had been another spell on it as well, one that had cut into his brow-demon spirit so that he couldn't use magic to heal himself. Like that spear, this arrow had been designed specifically for him.

 

His breath caught in his chest from something deeper than mere pain. Disappointment and fury filled his heart. He gathered it all in his mind and thrust it at Xelloss. The Mazoku's mouth twitched but he didn't smile.

 

"You knew," Zelgadis said through clenched teeth. "You knew they'd be here. You expected this. And they expected to find us!"

 

Xelloss turned to him. He regarded Zelgadis with his head slightly tipped to the side.

 

"I didn't know they'd be here, exactly, although I suspected they were the fanatics who were burning books up and down the coast. They seem the type, don't you think?"

 

Zelgadis glared at him. Xelloss sighed.

 

"You shouldn't be so surprised, Zelgadis. The fact that there were Relics, even weak ones, being worn on the streets of Mystport was a sure sign that the influence of the Followers had reached this far. I know perfectly well that you meant to avoid any contact with Shimerians by coming all this way, but you didn't consider the fact that Mystport is a thriving port town on the coastal shipping routes. While it's several weeks of difficult travel overland from Shimeria to here, it's not all that long a journey across to Ralteague and down the coast by ship.

 

"Followers and Soldiers of Shimer had already spread far and wide before you destroyed their Shrine, Zel-san. I'm afraid you should have realized that we had nearly as good a chance of meeting up with them on the coast as if we'd stayed in Seyruun in the first place. They could not have expected to find us here, but obviously they are prepared to hunt the infamous Mazoku and Chimera anywhere they go. They must have been thrilled to see us."

 

Zelgadis closed his eyes, gritting his teeth against the truth of this even more than against the pain in his shoulder. His arm was numb to the fingers and weakness was climbing into his chest and up his neck.

 

Being more aware of his astral body only meant that he could feel the damage searing through it. He tried to think of a way to stop it from spreading. The pain distracted him, and the only thing he could think of to do was to copy his motion on the physical plane and grip the wounded part. That meant touching his own spirit form in a way he'd never done before. Still, it seemed to work; he found he could twist his grip like a tourniquet, slowing the spread of the poisonous spell. That left him free to deal with the arrow itself.

 

The tip had not passed all the way through his arm. He would have to break the shaft and push it through before he could begin to heal. He wouldn't be able to concentrate through the pain on holding the astral spell at bay while he did this, either. He just had to hope that the enchantment wouldn't work after the arrow was removed.

 

"They were prepared to meet us..." he said a snarl, trying to use his anger to focus and distract himself from the pain. Clenching his eyes shut, he tightened his grip on the shaft.

 

His eyes flew open again as Xelloss stepped in front of him and closed his fist around the arrow. Before Zelgadis could move, the entire thing dissolved and vanished. He cried out as a blast of flame shot through his arm and chest from the wound, but a second later that vanished as well. The spell that had affected his astral body was simply gone. All that was left was a jagged, bleeding hole in his flesh. Gritting his teeth again, he raised his good hand over it and started Recovery.

 

Xelloss stepped back and nodded briefly. "Their enchanted weapons still have quite a lot of power, unfortunately. They'd only be suicidal to come after us if they didn't, I suppose."

 

He was gazing down at the ground near Zelgadis' feet. Zel's eyes flew wide and his healing spell faltered. Another arrow shaft quivered there, next to his feet where Xelloss had been standing. He peered at it more intently and studied it with his extra senses as well. Like fading wisps of smoke, twisted magic clung to the shaft.

 

"That's...?"

 

"A variation of the Keepers' Spell, a weak attempt to recreate the Curse of Shimer," Xelloss nodded. "Not very effective, still, but it seems they've been experimenting. Anyway, they missed! My, my," he sighed, shaking his head. "Who thought they would still be such a bother?"

 

Zelgadis glared at the arrow, suddenly furious. "You should be hunting down the Keepers instead of following me around," Zelgadis said. "I thought they were only a nuisance, not a real threat."

 

"There are others engaged in that task," Xelloss said. "For all I know, they've already been successful! This lot might just be fortunate enough to have some of the better weapons that were left when the rest were destroyed."

 

"Do you really think so?" Zelgadis said skeptically.

 

"I don't know. It's not really my job to worry about those details."

 

"Really? What is your job, then?" Zelgadis couldn't help but ask.

 

Xelloss' eyes shifted away. Zelgadis had hoped it was a simple question, but remembering how Xelloss had taunted the Soldiers made him suspect it wasn't.

 

"Well, as you know, part of my job is to protect you!" Xelloss said brightly, but he rubbed the back of his neck quickly as he spoke. "And, of course, I'm to make sure you don't brag about what you did..."

 

"Never mind that," Zelgadis said. "There's more to it, isn't there?"

 

"Well, since you've asked... " Xelloss shrugged again. "Of course, if I should meet any Soldiers of Shimer, or any of the more fanatical Followers for that matter, I'm under standing orders to destroy them. Just as you would expect!"

 

"Of course. And if you can lure them out by jumping up and down in front of them and making us both an irresistible target, all the better, I take it? That seems to be a bit at odds with the task of being my bodyguard, doesn't it?" he snapped.

 

Xelloss paused. He frowned at the wound Zelgadis was still in the process of healing.

 

"I hadn't thought of it that way," he said quietly.

 

Zelgadis watched his eyes travel from the wound to a place a few inches to the right. He suddenly realized that he really had felt Xelloss push him aside. If he hadn't, the arrow would have gone straight into his heart.

 

"Still," Xelloss went on thoughtfully, staring at his chest. "All Mazoku are under the same standing orders to destroy Soldiers of Shimer at every opportunity, but my primary duties require that I follow you around wherever you happen to go, Zelgadis-san. It was your own idea to come to the coast."

 

His eyes flickered with an odd light before he turned to sweep his gaze out to sea and along the coast. When he spoke again Zelgadis thought his voice sounded strange, unless it was just that he was speaking into the wind.

 

"If, as it should happen, you decide to go somewhere else - some place even more isolated, for instance, where Soldiers of Shimer are less likely to be found - well, of course, I can't suggest such a thing to you. I'd be shirking my own duty if I did so. But it wouldn't be my fault that I had to follow you there."

 

Zelgadis stared at him. Xelloss turned again, avoiding his gaze. Zelgadis looked down at the enchanted arrow stuck in the ground between their feet.

 

A moment ago he'd thought that everything had changed between them, just as he'd expected it to when some event caused the Mazoku's true nature to surface. But it was not in a Mazoku's nature to even consider going against any part of his orders. It finally sunk in that Xelloss had just saved his life again, and now seemed to be giving him a choice that Xelloss himself couldn't make.

 

The Recovery spell had done enough. His shoulder was still a little stiff, but that would take care of itself. He flexed it as he knelt down and grasped the arrow with his healed left hand. The Keepers' spell clutched at him weakly, but it was no match for the force of his own will. He didn't know what Xelloss had done to dissolve the arrow in his arm, so he made up something of his own on the spot.

 

Muttering a few words, he let loose a blast of magical energy powered by the sharp mixture of emotions that had sprung up inside him in the last few minutes. A second later his hand was empty. An odd little glassy hole in the path would be the only evidence of the entire battle.

 

"Let's get back into town - before that boat docks and madness hits the streets!" Zelgadis said.

 

"To town?" Xelloss turned and looked down at him, startled. "What about the elusive Professor Plover?"

 

"I'll.... come back and search for him another time. I've decided to follow Herringull's other bit of advice instead." He smiled grimly up at Xelloss. "I'm going to visit Osprey's again and see if this Wyndcliff village is even on a map," he said.

 

He stood up. Slowly, Xelloss smiled.

 

They both turned to look down at the cove one more time. The fishing boat that held no fish had nearly reached the shore. Zelgadis drew back and pulled Xelloss behind the bushes with him when he realized the men on deck were shouting and waving up at them.

 

"I don't know about you, but I'd rather not have to try to explain all this to them," he said quickly. "Let's go."

 

---

 

In spite of what he'd said, Xelloss hadn't really expected Zelgadis to change his plans on the spot and leave Mystport immediately. He followed Zelgadis along the path back toward town at a quick pace with his thoughts spinning even more quickly. Since when did the stubborn chimera follow his advice, anyway? Only since Xelloss started giving advice for his own reasons, of course.

 

No, that wasn't advice. He was just - making an observation, that was all. Describing a hypothetical situation, discussing his priorities...

 

Making us a target to lure out the Soldiers is a bit at odds with the task of being my bodyguard, isn't it?

 

The satisfaction he felt from destroying the Soldiers had evaporated in an instant when he heard those words. He hadn't realized how impossibly conflicted his priorities were until that moment.

 

That was why Zelgadis was standing there with an arrow sticking out of his arm, he had suddenly realized. So anxious to fulfill the most neglected part of his duty, Xelloss had only listened to his own battle lust, not to Zelgadis' instruction to shield them. The glittering tip of the arrow flying straight toward Zelgadis had reminded him that their weapons were still a real threat to the chimera's stoney hide, but even then, he hadn't realized that it was his own actions that had put Zelgadis at risk. In fulfilling one part of his duty, he'd nearly failed at another.

 

Even so, negligent stupidity was one thing. Giving advice that deliberately put one of his duties ahead of another was something else entirely. He should be able to align his priorities better than that. But if Zelgadis left Mystport and headed off into the wilderness again, he wouldn't get the chance.

 

It probably would have happened anyway, he told himself. Zelgadis had been unsettled ever since they'd arrived in town; he only needed the slightest excuse to get away from people. As they passed the docks where fishermen unloaded their catch of the day and prepared their boats for the approaching storm, he sensed Zelgadis' tension increase, even though the busy fisherman and sailors barely glanced at the two of them.

 

Watching them work, Xelloss wondered if one of these boats had also brought the squadron of Soldiers into Mystport that morning, or if they had been here all along. The thought that there might be more Soldiers in town irked him, now that he thought about it. It was his own fault for letting himself get so distracted this morning, instead of keeping watch for Uncle Ned's ship.

 

In fact, Xelloss thought, nearly every choice he'd made this day seemed questionable now. But that was only to be expected if he was foolish enough to start doing things for reasons of his own. Thinking that, he felt nearly as flustered with himself as Zelgadis did with the people in town, at least until they left the docks behind and sped up Merchants Row. Once they came in sight of Osprey's shop, Zel's agitation increased dramatically.

 

"It seems that the secret arrival is not quite so secret," Xelloss observed casually. He wasn't surprised that Zelgadis didn't even acknowledge his comment. His chimera was too busy trying to act invisible.

 

A crowd had already gathered near Gosling's bookstore, but they weren't lined up at the door and oblivious to all else this time. Instead, people milled around in groups, watching the shop and the street while they talked. Some children chased each other around between the others, swinging sticks like swords and casting make-believe spells at each other, apparently acting out a scene from the story. Others in the crowd seemed to be on the lookout for any new arrivals, and many heads turned toward Zelgadis and him as they came up the street.

 

Zelgadis shrank within his hood and hurried past, not meeting their eyes. Xelloss ducked his head as well, but he watched them from the corner of his eyes and frowned. Too many seemed to find their appearance interesting and turned to whisper to their companions. They couldn't know anything of the incident in the cove yet, but Xelloss wondered just how far and how fast the story of the priest and the chimera had spread from Shimer's Followers. If two young girls in town had heard the tale, it was likely that many others knew it just as well, even if they didn't realize the Followers of Shimer were the same ones who wanted to burn their beloved book.

 

Zelgadis sped past them and Xelloss followed at his heels until they were at the door of Osprey's map shop. The clerk they'd met the day before stood inside, peering out the window. A younger, thinner man stood next to him, fidgeting with some kind of amulet on a leather cord around his neck. Zelgadis stopped short and glared at him. Xelloss hardly spared it a glance; there was no magical aura at all from the amulet, whatever it was supposed to be. He saw Zelgadis breathe an impatient sigh of relief when he realized this as well.

 

Just as before, the clerk ignored them as they approached. He turned to his friend instead.

 

"You'd better get over there, Petey," he said in a harsh whisper, with a quick glance over his shoulder toward the interior of the shop. "Old man Osprey isn't going to let me go, damn it! Go on, go get a spot near the door, quick!"

 

"There's no sign of the shipment yet," Petey stammered. "Might just be a rumor, y'know, Warren."

 

"Petey, you know that ship is due in today. It's got to get here before that storm hits," the clerk insisted. "Go on, go!

 

"All right, all right," the younger man said. " S'pose you're right. I hate crowds," he shuddered, gripping his amulet tight within his fist.

 

"Excuse me," Zelgadis said, very testily. Of course this was lost on Warren the clerk, who only glanced at him long enough to see that it wasn't his boss who had spoken.

 

"Old... er, Mr. Osprey's in back, if you want him," Warren said irritably, with a jerk of his thumb over his shoulder. Xelloss guessed this was a standard reply; he doubted that the clerk remembered them from the day before.

 

"Thank you," Zelgadis said through clenched teeth, and stalked away.

 

Xelloss was about to follow when the clerk's friend turned around, muttering under his breath. Petey stopped short when he caught sight first of Zelgadis walking away and then of Xelloss. He looked from one to the other of them, then gave Xelloss a long look up and down and grinned broadly. Xelloss blinked in surprise; that didn't seem to be the reaction of someone who had heard the tale from Shimeria. It wasn't the mindless, idiotic smile of a Follower of Shimer, although it was idiotic enough. Not knowing what else to do, Xelloss smiled at him.

 

Petey blanched and then blushed beet red, shocked to realize he'd made eye contact with a stranger. He ducked his head and scampered past Xelloss like a mouse past a cat. A second later, Warren suddenly noticed Petey was gone from his side.

 

"Hey, Petey! Wait!" He waved a slip of paper in the air as he chased Petey out the door, passing Xelloss without a glance. "Wait! You have to get my copy, too!"

 

Xelloss blinked after them. Shaking his head, he turned to follow Zelgadis in search of Osprey, thinking that the Princess had attracted some very odd followers.

 

Osprey hunched forward facing Zelgadis with his hands flat on the counter between them. He was a small man with hunched shoulders and ink-stained fingers, and only a few remaining tufts of white hair floating around the back of his head, but his eyes were sharp as he listened to Zelgadis' quickly muttered questions. Xelloss wasn't surprised to hear Zelgadis ask first about the mapmaker's knowledge of the Lost City. He wondered if an an ecouraging answer would prompt Zel to change his plans yet again.

 

"Ah, yes, the old Sky Expeditions," Osprey said, nodding. He seemed very pleased that anyone would ask about his book, and any suspicions he might have had about his veiled and hooded customer disappeared. "Well, yes, I did have some unique charts and such, but," he gave a little chuckle, "it's been a bit of a disappointment, you know. When the Barrier disappeared and ships went out into open sea again, things weren't quite what we expected them to be. We've had to make new maps since then, you see. Either things have changed out in the wide world since the Barrier was made, or those old charts were never right to begin with. Sorry to say..."

 

Xelloss felt Zelgadis' inevitable wave of disappointment. He frowned in sympathy as he came up to the counter.

 

"Oh dear," he said. "Do you mean to say the old maps that indicated the location of the Lost City are useless now?"

 

"I'm afraid they're worse than useless," Osprey said, although he seemed quite cheerful about it. "They'll lead a sailor right onto rocks and shoals, islands out there were we never knew there were any, currents that'll take a ship miles off course!" He shook his head, but his look of regret was unconvincing. "We've been busy all this summer making new maps and charts for the far reaches. There'll be new shipping lanes opening up out there, once we chart the currents. As soon as I can get to it, I plan to publish an updated edition of The Skye Expeditions." He looked positively gleeful at the thought.

 

"So you see, you're just a little ahead of me, sir!" Osprey continued to Zelgadis. "Not that there's much interest in Skye these days, sad to say. Professor Herringull's reports have made everyone a bit shy about searching for the Lost City. Nobody wants to look like they believe in something that's just an old fairy tale!"

 

Xelloss couldn't help but enjoy the wave of frustration and disappointment that hit Zelgadis. However, it sounded like they would still be leaving town soon, unless the mapmaker failed in that regard as well. He nudged Zel's arm as he caught Osprey's eye.

 

"Are your maps of the coast up to date, Mr. Osprey? Or do they have to be changed as well?"

 

"Oh, no, the coastline hasn't changed much in the last thousand years or so!" Osprey chuckled. "The storms take a little away some years, the sea puts it back somewhere else. The dunes above State's Line grow an inch or so every winter, it seems, and the South Beach Sandbar gets a little longer, but all in all..."

 

"Then you have maps of the coast to the south," Zelgadis interrupted. "I'm interested in visiting the village of Wyndcliff. Is it difficult to find?"

 

"Well," Osprey said, pausing to frown a little. "Well, it's right on the coast, but the only road I know of takes you inland a ways before branching off to the village. People from the village still find their way down to town now and then; you can always recognize one of them. Even some of those beast-folk live up there, you see one of them in town once in a great while. But not many from town go up to the village. Wyndcliff," he mused. "I guess it'd be on a map, or at least the old track up toward it might be."

 

"Is it so very isolated as that?" Xelloss asked.

 

"Yes, it's well off the beaten path, I'd say, but the folks that live there don't seem to mind that. They're a bit backward in the ways of the world. They do great healing in the temple there, but it's such a queer old place, most folks would want to be in a pretty bad way before they'd go all the way up there."

 

"Hasn't it been connected with the Lost City in some way?" Zelgadis asked. "I heard there's one of the old families living there that might be descended from the Sorcerers of Skye."

 

"Oh, yes, I've heard that too," Osprey said, nodding. He sounded amused, as if they were talking about some old, quaint belief, like the tooth fairy. "The Mikoto family, that would be, that once gave birth to some of the most famous sorcerers in the area. No one's seen any great sorcery from them since at least my grandmother's day. Then again, you don't hear much from Wyndcliff these days at all, to be honest."

 

Zelgadis glanced at Xelloss, mingled frustration and curiosity on his veiled face. Xelloss only shrugged. He'd already given more advice than he should have.

 

"Well, as odd and backward as it may be, I'd like to visit the place," Zelgadis said to Osprey. "Do you have directions or a map that will take us there without getting us lost in the wilderness?"

 

"Oh, you'll do better with one of our maps, that's certain," Osprey said cheerfully. "Let's see, now. Right over here, I believe..."

 

He hobbled out from behind the counter, steadying himself with one hand on something at every step; his shoulders were so bent and stiff that he had to turn his head to the side to look up at the higher shelves. Zelgadis followed him while Xelloss lounged against the counter and waited.

 

While Osprey rummaged among stacks of papers, scrolls and books, Xelloss heard the door open and then heard the clerk's hushed, excited voice. He realized Petey must have returned, and from his level of excitement, the books must have arrived as well. He stepped closer to listen.

 

"Yeah, the ship is in! But listen!"

 

"Oh, at last!" Warren sounded like he might swoon with joy; Xelloss felt the urge to duck as a wave of pure bliss washed over him from the clerk.

 

"Wait, wait! I have to tell you what I heard! It's incredible!"

 

Xelloss frowned and took a step closer, peering at the clerk and his friend through stacks of rolled parchment. He kept half his attention on Zelgadis and the mapmaker while he listened to Petey's tale.

 

"It was just like a scene from the book!" Petey began. "A band of book burners appeared out of nowhere right as the ship was coming in, down in that little cove south of town. They attacked the boat, flaming arrows, swords, spells, everything! The crew of the boat thought they were going to be burned alive and drowned along with the books!"

 

The clerk gasped, speechless at the horror of it.

 

"They didn't...?" he said, clutching Petey's arms.

 

Petey shook his head and grinned. "They were saved! Two mysterious guys just appeared and saved the day, casting spells and blasting them all to bits! Just like the heroes from the book! I swear, that's what I heard!"

 

The clerk gaped at him. "Really? So, all the books are safe!"

 

"Of course, Warren, you're holding your copy right there in your own hands, aren't you?" Petey said impatiently. "You're missing the point! Don't you see? Those guys! Those two guys who were here a minute ago!"

 

Warren blinked. "What two guys? You mean that customer who came in here? What about him?"

 

"Warren, you need new glasses," Petey said. "Listen... I think they were the ones who saved the boat! They're dressed just like them!"

 

Xelloss jumped back. He was startled to hear that such an accurate description of the rescuers had flown so far in so short a time, and even more startled that Petey's eyes were so sharp.

 

As amusing as it might be to see the reactions of the crowd, Zelgadis was right that it would be difficult to explain how they'd happened to be there to destroy a whole squadron of book burners. It could get a little complicated if some of those book burners were actually local residents as he suspected they were. He knew Zelgadis wouldn't welcome the attention. As unsettled as Xelloss felt at the moment, he wasn't sure he wanted it, either.

 

He turned quickly to find Zelgadis hunched over a map. Osprey's cramped fingers pointed to a dot along the wavy line of the coast.

 

"That'd be it, about there," Osprey said.

 

"Hmm," Zelgadis said. "This looks like a very old map; don't you have anything more recent?"

 

"I think this will do just fine," Xelloss said quickly in his ear. He already had a coin out of his purse to hand to Osprey.

 

Zelgadis looked up at him, startled. Xelloss bent his head down and spoke quietly in his ear.

 

"The books have arrived, and apparently, so has the story of our daring rescue, along with a surprisingly clear description of the rescuers. We're famous all over again!" He grinned.

 

Zelgadis gaped at him for a second, and then, Xelloss knew, his sharp ears heard the clerk's testy voice.

 

"Petey, I swear there was only the one guy, but he's probably still back there with old - Mr. Osprey. Go ask him about it if you think he's some sword-swinging hero, but just let me read my book in peace!"

 

"Damn!" Zelgadis muttered. He grabbed the map and started rolling it up, while Xelloss pressed his gold pieces into Osprey's hand. But Osprey had heard his clerk's voice as well, if not his words.

 

"Warren, quit your chattering and get back to work!" he barked with surprising volume. "You can read your story book later. Right now you're supposed to be clearing out those shelves. Get at it, boy!"

 

Xelloss sensed Warren's frustration and felt Petey wince in fright. Osprey hobbled around the corner to glare at his clerk. Xelloss peeked between the shelves in time to see Warren quickly stuff his treasured book out of sight near the window. Petey sidled away, one hand clinging to his copy, the other clutching his amulet for dear life.

 

"Just having a quick word, here, Mr. Osprey," Warren said quickly. "Petey's just leaving," he added unnecessarily since Petey was already out the door.

 

"Good!" Osprey said. "Well, go on, back to those shelves, then!"

 

"Yes, sir," Warren mumbled. He slunk away to a far corner of the shop, with a nervous glance at the place where his book was hidden. Osprey watched him all the way, and only turned back to his customers when the clerk finally crouched down and began to pull boxes off the shelf in question.

 

"Can't get any work out of him with his mind in that fairy tale all the time. He used to be a smart boy, but lately...." Osprey muttered, shaking his head. He didn't seem to notice that his customers had ducked back out of sight behind the shelves. Zelgadis puffed a sigh of relief when both Warren and Petey were safely out of view.

 

"Thank you for your help, Mr. Osprey," Zelgadis said.

 

"Yes, we'd best be on our way now," Xelloss added with a wave and a smile.

 

Warren was too busy muttering and slamming boxes around to take any notice of them as they hurried toward the door. Zelgadis adjusted his scarf and hood more closely around his face. Xelloss didn't bother to point out this probably wouldn't help them get through the crowd unnoticed.

 

Zelgadis paused to peer out the window. Over his shoulder, Xelloss saw that people were now clustered around the bookstore where books were being handed out one by one. People walked away with their treasures, sometimes in pairs or small groups, but most of them already had their noses in the book or read aloud to their companions as they walked. Once they had the Princess in front of them, they took no more notice of their surroundings.

 

"It looks safe enough to slip up the street in the other direction," Zelgadis said, but he sounded a little doubtful.

 

"Or we could walk out into the crowd and be hailed as heroes!" Xelloss joked.

 

Zelgadis huffed. "Feel free to make yourself a decoy for me, then," he said. "I'm leaving."

 

"Admiration and praise from happy strangers is not on my diet," Xelloss said cheerfully. "I'm right behind you."

 

Zelgadis led the way toward the door. Xelloss glanced down by the window and saw Warren's book peeking out from its hasty hiding place. In spite of all his other concerns, curiosity and mischief made him reach down and nudge it out for a glimpse.

 

He almost wished he hadn't. The bright, colorful cover of the book seemed to leap out and root him to the spot. He felt rather the same way he'd felt once when a very large bell had fallen onto his head, or perhaps more appropriately, like he'd been hit by one of Lina's Fireballs.

 

"Xelloss? What's wrong?" Zelgadis' impatience was tinged with concern; Xelloss thought perhaps the shaman sensed the shock he felt. He heard Zelgadis come back to his side from the door. He glanced up at him in time to see the chimera's blue face turn ivory white when he glanced down and saw what Xelloss had seen.

 

"She can't... she didn't.... " Zelgadis gasped.

 

"Apparently, she did," Xelloss observed casually. Somehow, sensing Zelgadis' shock calmed him down considerably. He dared another glance at the book.

 

"The Princess of Fate and the Sorcerer's Secret" read the lettering on a scroll which formed a border around the picture on the cover. A group of figures was painted there in bright colors, posed in a scene from their adventures - a scene that was shockingly familiar.

 

In the picture, a swordsman with yellow hair slashed his glowing sword through the air, while a hooded, white-robed sorcerer and a young, dark haired cleric stood beside him, arms raised to cast their spells. Opposite them another swordsman, a shadowy man in a billowing robe and wide-brimmed hat, had raised his sword to strike. In the center of all this, a petite female sorcerer with flaming red hair stood in an aura of golden light, silhouetted against the black, demonic shape swirling behind her.

 

Beside the redheaded sorcerer, most distinctive of all, the Princess herself stood with her arms raised and her long cape whipping around her very shapely form. She held up an amulet, which shot a beam of light toward another demonic figure, a huge, fiery, three-headed dragon that filled the background of the scene. Green ringlets framed the Princess' face and her blue eyes sparkled in triumph.

 

If Xelloss had any remaining doubts about the identity of the Princess and her companions, the words in the scroll below the picture made it undeniably clear.

 

" 'Written by Queen Martina Xoana Mel Navratilova'." Zelgadis breathed the words disbelievingly. " 'All proceeds from the sale of this book will be used in the restoration of the King's Palace at Xoana.' Great gods, what has she done?"

 

Xelloss glanced up and around the shop. He heard Osprey rustling papers in the back, while he could just see the top of Warren's head and hear him muttering behind his growing stack of boxes.

 

"I think perhaps we'd better find out," he said.

 

Zelgadis stood by in numb silence as Xelloss slipped Warren's precious book under his cloak. He stared at Xelloss for a second, and then closed his eyes as if in pain. Then, without another word, he turned and led the way out of the shop.

 

Xelloss walked along beside Zelgadis with his head down, hardly glancing at the people they passed, barely noticing when he sensed the now familiar excitement of one of the Princess' many fans. The discovery of Martina's book was a welcome distraction from his own troubles. While he felt Zelgadis' surprise shift into anger, his own twisted into dark humor.

 

"Ah," he said to himself softly. "So the dragon really is dead. Mac will be very disappointed." He grinned.

 

Turning a corner, he felt girlish laughter before he heard it. He looked up to see two small figures huddled together in the doorway of a closed shop, giggling excitedly as they turned the pages of the book propped on their knees. One of them happened to look up as he and Zelgadis walked by. Rya's eyes met his and grew very round.

 

He couldn't help it: he grinned at her. Her mouth dropped open. She poked Jin in the arm and the other girl glared at the interruption before looking his way. Jin's mouth fell open as well and her face turned charmingly pink. He turned away and hurried after Zelgadis, who hadn't noticed them at all.

 

"I told you!" he heard Jin exclaim in an excited whisper just before they turned another corner.

 

It was only then that Xelloss realized how they knew his name - not from the story of the destruction of Shimer's Shrine as he'd assumed, but from Martina's ridiculous book. Further along, as they hurried across the footbridge, it occurred to him to wonder if one of the book-burning Soldiers he'd destroyed a short time ago had been Rya's Uncle Ned. He supposed he might never know.

 

Zelgadis glanced at him and scowled.

 

"What is so amusing?" he snapped.

 

"Almost everything," Xelloss answered cheerfully. It was almost true.

 

"That's easy for you to say," Zelgadis growled. "You're not on the cover of some ridiculous book that everyone thinks is a fairy tale!"

 

"Oh? I'm not?" It was Xelloss' turn to scowl. He pulled the book out to look at it as they climbed the hill up to the Inn and their cottage. Zelgadis winced, but there was no one around them to notice.

 

Xelloss studied the cover again, amused at the way Lina and her companions had been portrayed. Then he noticed a figure in the corner of the picture.

 

"What? Is that supposed to be me? Oh, Martina-san, how very cruel of you!"

 

Zelgadis peered over his arm, too curious to resist. He chuckled when he finally noticed the little figure in dark, priest-like robes huddled in the corner, apparently cowering from everything going on around him.

 

"Zel-san, that is not amusing!"

 

"Well, you did disappear whenever things got rough, you know."

 

"It was for the best," Xelloss protested weakly. "I had my reasons..."

 

"I'm sure you did," Zelgadis said with a grin.

 

Xelloss sighed. "And now, I take it you're planning to disappear from Mystport, just when things have become interesting."

 

They came in view of their cottage at that moment. Zelgadis finally slowed his quick pace to a much slower walk.

 

"Yes," he said quietly. "That is a shame. I was looking forward to several more nights in this place."

 

Xelloss heard him sigh and mutter something about lying in bed and looking at something all day after all. He wasn't sure what Zelgadis meant, but it gave him an idea.

 

"I suppose we could hide out here for some time," Xelloss suggested. He nudged against Zelgadis suggestively. Now that he thought about it, he really liked that idea. If Zelgadis stayed here a little longer, he could at least find out if there were any Soldiers still in the area and take care of business, but this time, he would keep Zelgadis completely out of it.

 

"No, I don't think so." Zelgadis shook his head. "Don't you remember when we arrived? The girl at the desk who suddenly became very friendly?"

 

"Oh, yes," Xelloss remembered. "Just after she hid the book she'd been reading before we came in. She's probably in town at this moment, getting her own copy of Book 6. She'll hear the story about the book burners as well, and if she already thinks she knows who we are.... "

 

Zelgadis shook his head again, this time in amazement.

 

"We just have to get our things and leave. I'm afraid we have even more reason to go to Wyndcliff than we knew," Zelgadis said, looking at his rolled-up map. "I just hope it really is as isolated as everyone says. If we're lucky, they don't even have a bookseller there."

 

"On the other hand, we could just end up lost in the wilderness," Xelloss suggested cheerfully.

 

It worried him just a little that Zelgadis only grinned.

 

---

to be continued.

 

Note: this chapter is dedicated to Ami Metallium, and anyone else who already guessed about The Princess of Fate! (Did anyone not see that coming??)

 

Next: Xelloss has too much time to think on the way to the mysterious village of Wyndcliff, but it's Zelgadis who has the moment of insight. (angst and lemon ahead)