Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Birth Rite ❯ 8 ( Chapter 8 )

Title: Birth Rite 8/?

Author: Tsutsuji

Warnings: yaoi (nothing explicit in this chapter). Original characters.

Disclaimer: I do not own the copyright to these characters and I'm making no profit from this fic and intend no copyright infringement.

Spell-checked and self-beta'd. Please inform me of any errors.

 

Summary: As Xelloss and Zelgadis enter a new phase in their adventure and their relationship, they arrive at the odd, old village of Wyndcliff where they find more surprises and mysteries waiting to greet them.

 

THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed, commented, and asked for more! I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter out to you. My brain stopped working for a while and I couldn't write anything,but I seem to be functioning again at last. Special thanks to fanny yagami - your email gave me the final boost I really needed to get the guys to Wyndcliff.

 

 

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Birth Rite, Chapter 8

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"You know," Zelgadis muttered an hour or so later, after he'd gotten his breath back, "just because I'm made of stone doesn't mean I enjoy being coated in mud."

 

Xelloss rolled onto his side and propped himself up on his elbow to look down at Zel, who was flat on his back on the ground beside him, and who was, in fact, quite thoroughly coated with mud. It was a little difficult to tell where the chimera ended and the ground began.

 

"It's your own fault this time," he said, grinning down at Zel. "Anyway, it suits you, I think!" He leaned closer and ran his hand over Zel's mud-caked thigh. "Especially when you're not wearing anything else!"

 

Zelgadis caught his hand and stopped its progress with a sigh and a grimace, as though he really had to force himself to do it.

 

"Look," Zel said, gazing straight up through the treetops far over head. "The clouds are closing in again, and the wind is picking up. We were lucky to get a short break from the weather, but the storm isn't over yet. I'd prefer to find some real shelter before the end of the day. And a bath would be nice."

 

"I can't argue with you there," Xelloss purred. "Well, then, I suppose..."

 

But they didn't get up for another minute. Instead, Xelloss leaned over him and pressed the hand Zelgadis had caught back against his chest over his heart, and kissed him deeply. Zelgadis sighed again, but he didn't resist this time. Instead, his free hand came up to stroke Xelloss' hair, and it was Xelloss who finally broke the kiss and then pulled them both to their feet.

 

It took some time to collect their scattered belongings, most of which had gotten wet again in the dripping mist from the trees. Zelgadis gave up trying to brush the half-dried mud from his rough skin and pulled on his clothes over it all. He threw his cloak and hood on just as the rain started to fall in earnest again.

 

Already the rather smug contentment which Xelloss had been sensing in him was starting to give way to his customary irritability, which only increased when he glanced over and saw that Xelloss was not only dressed, but clean and dry as well. As Xelloss expected, another wave of irritation flowed off the chimera when he picked up Martina's book and brushed a smudge of dirt from the cover. Zelgadis scowled at it, even after Xelloss tucked it into the bag hanging at his side.

 

"That book," Zelgadis grumbled.

 

"I don't know why you're still so displeased when you're obviously one of the heroes of the tale," Xelloss said reasonably as he settled his cloak around himself and picked up his staff. "I expect you've become quite popular all over the countryside now."

 

"Well, I doubt that," Zelgadis said. "But I guess it will be interesting to see what the Princess has to say about the infamous Trickster Priest - especially after seeing that picture of you on the cover!"

 

"Unfortunately, if this is the last book, we've already missed most of the tale, including the part where I dashingly rescued the Princess from a gang of bandit thugs! I suppose we'll hear all of it eventually, though."

 

"Yes," Zelgadis sighed. "I suppose we will. Endlessly."

 

They started along the road again, with the wind blowing rain and wet leaves against into their faces. It was nearly as wild as it had been the night before, only lacking the lightning and thunder. Xelloss found it quite pleasant. The steady, low hum of dark energy from Zelgadis' grumpy mood was a pleasant compliment to the rough weather, as far as he was concerned. Now he could enjoy both the storm and Zelgadis' company, which he hadn't been able to appreciate the night before when his mind was caught up in turmoil and doubt.

 

Looking ahead to where the road quickly disappeared from sight, curving to the left through a thickening evergreen forest, Xelloss smiled contentedly. At least for a while, he didn't need to worry about where their path was leading them or which direction he should go. While the rain pelted their faces and the wind roared in the branches over their heads, it was quite enough to simply be walking along with an irritable chimera by his side, ready for whatever adventures awaited them down the road.

 

They were beginning to get into the southern coastal mountains, and their road began to climb steadily uphill. The heavy rain turned it into a muddy stream under their feet. Zelgadis cursed under his breath as his boots became even muddier than the rest of him.

 

Xelloss tuned in a little more closely to Zelgadis' emotional energy, as he hadn't quite dared to do earlier. He wasn't surprised to detect a fair amount of satisfaction, even pleasure, still lurking underneath the irritation he was projecting so strongly on the surface. Xelloss knew the rain and mud and Martina's book really did annoy Zelgadis, but he wondered if most of the darker emotion was just there for his benefit.

 

It was sweet of Zelgadis to be so considerate of him, he thought with a fond grin. Of course, he couldn't help but show his appreciation by discussing one of those sources of irritation.

 

"Now that I think about it more," he began, "I should have stolen the rest of the Princess books as well. I'm quite curious to know exactly what parts of the story Martina-san chose to tell. I wonder if Wyndcliff really is too isolated to have a bookseller? Perhaps, if we're lucky, someone there has read it and can tell us the rest of the tale."

 

Zelgadis, predictably, speared him with a glare, to which Xelloss only responded by grinning innocently.

 

"I hope they've never even heard of the Princess of Fate there," the chimera grumbled. "As long as they're civilized enough to have an inn and a bath, I'll be just as happy if they're completely cut off from the rest of the world!"

 

He sloshed along silently for a while, but his scowl grew more thoughtful.

 

"Actually," he said after a while, "I wonder whether this book is as well known all over the countryside as it is in this area? Mystport is much closer to Xoana than Seyruun, and as you said yesterday, stories as well as people may travel more quickly along the coast than over land. I wonder if Lina and the others even know about it yet? And if she does," he added as an afterthought, "I wonder if Xoana is still standing?"

 

"Ah!" Xelloss said. "You do have a point!" He hadn't thought to wonder how the fiery sorceress might react to seeing her own picture on the cover of a book written by her former rival. The image of Lina that came to his mind made him laugh. Zelgadis quirked an eyebrow at him from under the dripping edge of his hood.

 

"Well," Xelloss said, stifling his giggles, "You know, stories of Lina Inverse, the Bandit Killer and Dragon Spooker, have been circulating around for years now. Her name, at least, is known almost everywhere from the Desert of Destruction to the mountains of the far North. I even heard some of the stories about her before I met all of you. They were especially popular during the time you all had a bounty on your heads."

 

"Yes, I know," Zelgadis said, "I heard some of them myself. But most of them didn't have much to do with anything that really happened to us. In fact, a lot of them were just old folk stories that somehow got our names attached to them, and most of them weren't flattering. This story seems to have cast Lina as the hero, as far as I can tell, in spite of the fact that Martina was Lina's enemy for so long."

 

"I'm not surprised," Xelloss said. "Martina came to admire Lina quite a lot, you know, by the end of it all. In fact, she had something of a crush on Lina, in spite of the fact she married that swordsman. Come to think of it, Zangulus had something of a crush on Gourry, so perhaps that explains it! But in any case, it seems that you are all heroes in Martina's book - minus myself, of course!"

 

"Don't tell me you want to be considered a hero!" Zelgadis teased.

 

"Oh my, no! That would ruin my reputation completely."

 

Zelgadis laughed. "Considering how you deceived Martina, I don't think you have to worry. Of course, we don't know if she got the story right at all. She probably has everything all mixed up!"

 

"Hmm," Xelloss said. From what he'd heard, he'd assumed she had given the story of Gaav's death as she'd seen it. He was only guessing that the Chaos Dragon was the "dragon" who it seemed that Lina, "The Sorcerer," had killed until he revived to threaten them again, only to be killed finally by Hellmaster.

 

Now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure how much Martina understood of what was really going on. If she did get it right rather than mixing it all up... well, it was no wonder the book was stirring up a lot of attention, even from scholars. Especially from scholars, in fact.

 

"Considering all that happened, now that I think of it, it might be just as well if she did mix things up a bit," he said, frowning.

 

Zelgadis turned to him with a curious look. "You think it might be a little too revealing otherwise? Especially concerning certain Mazoku family secrets? I rather doubt the esteemed Professor Herringull or her colleagues in the Sorcerer's Guild know quite so much about the Chaos Dragon as we do."

 

"I very much doubt it," Xelloss said. "Although I suppose it doesn't matter much now if they know how he came to be destroyed, and why. Still, I doubt the remaining Lords would be pleased to have the details made public."

 

"Do you suppose her description of what happened to Hellmaster makes any sense?" Zelgadis said doubtfully. "We all hardly understood what was happening at the time."

 

Xelloss peered up at him from under his bangs, smiling slightly. Zelgadis looked startled by his expression.

 

"Do you understand it, even now?" Xelloss asked softly. "It was hardly fathomable at the time, even to me. It still fills me with awe to think of what we all witnessed - and survived!"

 

Zelgadis frowned. "You mean seeing the Lord of Nightmares appear in Lina's form, and all the chaos and destruction that caused?"

 

Xelloss winced at his casual mention of the most powerful Being in all the worlds, but Zelgadis didn't notice. It always amazed him that humans treated Her name with so little respect and understanding - if they knew of Her at all.

 

"I suppose the fact that we survived all that is remarkable," Zelgadis agreed. "I was more concerned with Lina at the time, though, and whether she was really... gone. After we escaped and she and Gourry reappeared, I was just so glad we were all still alive that I guess I didn't wonder about it much more than that."

 

Xelloss walked on silently with his head bowed for a moment, feeling Zelgadis' curious gaze turn toward him. Even the shamanic sorcerer still didn't comprehend exactly what he'd seen in that moment after the Hellmaster was destroyed. Perhaps he couldn't comprehend it, just as there were some aspects of astral magic that his mortal mind simply couldn't grasp. And certainly Martina was even more ignorant of the nature of the Source of All Things than Zelgadis was.

 

It was quite unthinkable that Martina could have described Lina's spell in the pages of a book, and even more unthinkable that she could have accurately understood and described its ultimate result. If she even tried to describe what Lina had done, and if people believed the tale was true, he wasn't sure if Lina would find herself hailed as a hero or blamed for nearly destroying the world. Either way, her reaction to all of it would be interesting, to say the least.

 

"My, my!" he said, patting the bag that held the book as if he might sense a blast of chaotic energy coming from it. "I knew Martina-san was a fine source for minor chaos in the world, but I never imagined she was capable of stirring things up quite so much!"

 

He turned to Zelgadis with one of his typical grins, getting a grimace in return.

 

"You're really going to turn into another fan of the Princess, aren't you?" he said disgustedly.

 

"Let's just say, I'm eager to read all about the Princess of Fate now! But all things considered, I think it probably is best if most people believe it's only a story invented by a rather over-indulged and over-imaginative princess."

 

"Yes," Zelgadis muttered. Apparently he wasn't pleased with being considered no more than a fictional character. "Just a charming little fairy tale. That would let you off the hook for a lot of things, wouldn't it? But you know, Xelloss, Martina could never have invented you out of her own imagination. No one could. You're far stranger than anything a human could ever imagine!"

 

Xelloss decided he might as well take that as a compliment. "Thank you, Zel-san! I do try."

 

 

---

 

After several hours of plodding along through the steady downpour, they came to a fork in the road. The main road continued to curve to the left, heading away from the coast. It skirted the mountain range and slipped downhill to disappear into a deep spruce forest. The smaller path to the right began to climb up the ridge, which was now quite a bit lower and thinner of trees than the high hill that had cut them off from the worst of the wind the night before. Looking up the steep road, Xelloss could see and hear the wind whipping the stunted treetops at the crest of the ridge.

 

"I expect the view will be splendid once we reach the other side," he said cheerfully.

 

Zelgadis gave him a wordless, black look, then turned away and began to plod up the muddy path. Xelloss followed, still grinning.

 

In fact, the view was quite impressive from the top of the hill, although it would have been easier to see it without the icy rain pelting directly into their faces and the mist that hid the long stretch of coastline to the north and south.

 

Directly in front of them, the land dipped then rose again to a wooded point, beyond which it dropped suddenly away as if they had reached the edge of the world. Their path bent to the left again and fell back into low, windswept evergreens for a few miles, before it wound down into a deep but narrow cove to the south.

 

Beyond the cove, a high cliff rose to a hook-shaped point that jutted further out into the sea than the lower hill they stood upon. The sea was churning white and grey under dark storm clouds and mist, and even from this distance, they could see the grass and the few trees on the point being tugged almost flat by the wind. But within the arm of the cliff, the water in the cove was nearly as calm as a lake.

 

A rickety looking village clung to the hillside at the head of the cove, with the mountains rising up behind it. The collection of wooden houses and terraced streets shored up by wooden beams began at a rambling pier at the water's edge. Halfway up the slope, amid the moss-covered roofs of the town, there was a mass of evergreen trees that looked black in the rain, and in the midst of the trees Xelloss glimpsed something that seemed to gleam brightly through the rain and mist.

 

He wondered if there was some kind of guildhall in the tiny village, or if this might be the roof of a mansion belonging to one of the famously old families Zelgadis was so interested in. He was about to mention it when Zelgadis called his attention to something else that was even more intriguing.

 

"Look there," he said, pointing across to the hooked peak of the cliff. "That must be where the village gets its name; the cliff blocks the storm winds. But look at that clump of trees and stones at the very end. And there," he lowered his arm and pointed at the base of the cliff as well. "What do you make of that?"

 

Xelloss looked where he pointed, at the place where the waves crashed over a breakwater of huge, black stones. Peering more closely at it, Xelloss realized that these weren't merely the tumbled shards of the cliff, but shaped and carved stones - round chunks of broken pillars, and square-cut stones that might have been lintels. They would have been massive when they were whole.

 

"Ah," he said. He suddenly understood the light that had come up in Zelgadis' eyes, and hardly needed his special Mazoku senses to detect Zelgadis' excitement. "Professor Herringull said there were some ruins of interest here, here, didn't she? Quite ruined," he added, looking back at the top of the cliff. "It looks as if more than half of it fell into the sea, along with a large portion of the cliff. But it fell a very, very long time ago, by the look of it. I'd say it's much older than anything I expected to find in this part of the world."

 

"As old as the tales of the Lost City, perhaps?" Zelgadis said.

 

"Perhaps," Xelloss said noncommittally.

 

In fact, as ancient as it was, the ruins still carried an aura that he could sense even from here, a dark aura that suggested something quite different than the golden age of the City of Skye. He didn't bother to mention this, but he was almost as curious about the ruins now as Zelgadis was.

 

Zelgadis shielded his eyes from the rain with his hand, looking back from the cliff toward the village. Xelloss followed his gaze and realized what he was looking for: a way up to the ruins from the village.

 

"It appears that there's a road that leads up into the mountains behind the village," he said to Zelgadis. "It probably leads back to the main road further south. But it looks as if there's a way from that road onto the point as well. It's hard to tell through this mist, but I think I can see a path right along the top of the cliff."

 

Zelgadis hmm'd and squinted, but even his sharp eyes couldn't see through the fog that clung to the sheltered inner edge of the cliff, out of reach of the wind.

 

"Well, I'm sure we can find out more in the village." Zelgadis frowned as he looked down on the jumbled cluster of wooden buildings. "I hope there is an inn," he said doubtfully. "It's even smaller than I expected."

 

"There's only one way to find out," Xelloss said cheerfully. He led the way down the path, and Zelgadis wasted no time following along behind him.

 

They lost sight of the village when the road wound down into the trees again, but they could hear the steady roar of the sea crashing all along the coast below them. Before long, the road left the trees suddenly and turned sharply left again - it had nowhere else to go, because the hill dropped off into an overhanging cliff right in front of them.

 

"Mr. Osprey was right," Xelloss observed as Zelgadis peered over the edge to where the waves rolled in fifty feet below. "You could walk right off the edge of the land into the sea if you're not careful!"

 

Zelgadis glanced back up the coast, then stopped and stared with greater interest. Xelloss looked around as well and saw that a track led northwest along the cliff's edge, bending back inland again as the low point of land thrust further out into the sea. He suddenly noticed smoke rising from a chimney that poked up above the treetops, and then saw the slate-shingled roof dotted with several other chimneys. A round turret of grey stone, nearly invisible in the mist, rose higher than everything else. If it had any windows, they must all face out to sea, away from where they stood.

 

"Interesting," Xelloss said, grinning at the curiosity that was growing on Zelgadis' face. "The residence of one of the old sorcerer families, no doubt."

 

"Possibly," Zelgadis said, guardedly. "Herringull said there was only one family old enough to really have come from Skye, didn't she? But she didn't mention a name."

 

He stood and stared at the intriguing glimpse of the building for so long that Xelloss thought he might be deciding to visit it first. He supposed the village didn't look quite so interesting compared to a mansion with many chimneys and a tower looking out to sea. But after a minute or so, Zelgadis turned back toward the village. Xelloss heard him mutter something about "bath and bed" as he brushed past. He grinned as he followed. Apparently Zelgadis was hoping to get rid of some of the caked on mud before he went to pay a call on any grand estates, which was probably wise.

 

As he watched Zelgadis walk down the path ahead of him, Xelloss was also glad of the decision for reasons of his own. He much prefered the relative privacy of an inn over the possiblity of spending the night in a mansion with curious hosts and all the distraction that would provide for Zelgadis.

 

They found themselves rather suddenly in the village, and suddenly cut off from the wind at the same time. It seemed very still after being buffeted about all day by the storm. Even the rain had settled into a fine, drizzling mist that barely made a sound as it fell on them. The roar of the sea had faded into the background as well. The loudest sound they heard was the splat of their own footsteps in the muddy street.

 

They had come out on the third level of terraced streets above the water, in a narrow street lined with shops and houses. Xelloss caught the scent of fish being smoked over wood fires, but there was no sign of an inn along the street, and hardly any sign of people until they turned a sharp bend and climbed up to the next level.

 

As they entered a somewhat wider street paved with mud-covered stones, a person came out of a doorway not far ahead. He walked toward them, picking his way among the puddles with one arm flung up over his head to keep his hood low over his face against the penetrating mist. He didn't seem to notice two strangers coming toward them until he was right in front of them, when he looked up suddenly and stopped short.

 

Xelloss and Zelgadis stopped in mid-stride as well. The face under the hood was covered with silvery-grey fur, with long, thin whiskers on either side of a triangular, pink nose. Green eyes went wide at the sight of them. Xelloss was startled enough to blink open-eyed as well, but the cat-faced person didn't seem to notice his inhuman eyes. He seemed more intrigued by Zelgadis, who for once had forgotten to pull his scarf over his rocky, blue-skinned face.

 

The cat-person smiled and bobbed in a little bow. "Pardon me," he said. "I wasn't watching where I was going. Can't stand getting wet, you know," he added with a dainty shake of his foot.

 

Zelgadis stared back, apparently too startled to speak. Xelloss gave him a second to recover, then took over when he didn't.

 

"I apologize as well," he said. "We've just arrived in town, and we're rather anxious to get out of the rain ourselves. Could you tell us if there is an inn nearby?"

 

"Oh, yes! Certainly! There are two, in fact, both up near the top of town." The cat-man turned and gestured up the street they were following, then waved his paw back and forth several times up toward the highest part of the village. Xelloss noticed that his furry paw barely reached out of his long coat sleeve.

 

"The Grey Inn has an excellent fish chowder, but I've heard that The Bridge has better beds," he said with another friendly smile.

 

"Wonderful," Xelloss said cheerfully. "It's good to have choices! What about a bath?"

"Ah, well," he said with a shy little laugh. "I'm not one for water baths, myself, but I believe they each have facilities. Also, there's the hot spring just up the hill down the south road, not far out of the village, as well. I've heard it's very relaxing, if you enjoy that kind of thing!"

 

"Thank you!" Xelloss said with a nod of his head. "We do enjoy a nice hot spring now and then - eh, Zelgadis-san?"

 

"Er, yes," Zelgadis said, finding his voice at last. He was too distracted to even notice Xelloss' suggestive hint. He nodded politely to the cat-man. "Thank you for your help."

 

"My pleasure," the cat-man said. He drew himself back under his hood and nodded again as he went on his way. "Please enjoy your stay here in Wyndcliff!"

 

"Well," Xelloss said as he nudged Zelgadis to move forward again. "That's a relief, I must say. I was beginning to think they didn't cater to travelers here at all."

 

"But they do cater to beast-people, apparently," Zelgadis said quietly, with a quick glance over his shoulder at the cat person.

 

Xelloss turned for a glance as well, and happened to catch the cat man sneaking a quick look back at them at the same moment. He waved his sleeve-covered paw and smiled, then ducked and hurried away.

 

Xelloss wasn't sure if it was only his imagination that saw the cat man give a startled blink when he'd said Zelgadis' name. Maybe one of their tales of fame had spread to this isolated little village, after all - but then the question remained, which one of the tales would they be known for?

 

He found himself hoping that if their names were known, it was from the Princess books and not from any other story. He really hadn't even considered the possibility that there might be Followers of Shimer here as well. All things considered, that would be quite annoying.

 

As they climbed up the next few levels, zigging and zagging back and forh across the side of the hill, they passed more people scurrying along through the muddy streets on their own business. They were ordinary people for the most part, who either nodded to them or paid them no heed at all, but they saw several other beast people as well, mingling with the regular folk in a way that he'd never seen before.

 

A lizard woman with a yellow scarf tied over her head almost ran into them while she tugged on her young son's arm impatiently; he was more interested in flapping his webbed feet in the deepest mud puddles he could find. Another cat person, a plump woman with yellow and cream-colored fur, stood in the doorway of her sweet shop, carefully out of reach of the rain. She smiled and stepped aside to greet a man with the face of a bulldog. Outside another shop, a man who had the head and wings of a hawk, wearing colorfully woven, beaded robes, stood and haggled over some carved woodcrafts with a grey-bearded shopkeeper.

 

Zelgadis peered out from his hood at them; Xelloss could sense his nervous wonder. There weren't many places in the world where beast-people and ordinary humans congregated in such a friendly fashion, unless you counted the kind of outlaw gangs that attracted outcasts and oddities. Of course, Xelloss remembered, Zelgadis had been a part of just such a mixed group of outcasts when he was with Rezzo. That group had included Fishmen and a werewolf crossbreed, among other unusual specimens, but they were hardly the civilized, friendly people that he saw here in Wyndcliff.

 

In general, beast people had never fared well among humans, he reflected. Fish people tended to be as prejudiced against humans as humans were repulsed by them. Jillas' Red Fox Tribe had once been a large clan living near the edge of the southern desert, until they had been hunted and hounded almost to extinction by human men. The Hawk Tribe whose legends had brought them here were rarely seen by humans, except for those who were foolish enough to hunt in their territory along the Eyrie River. Those unfortunate men usually returned to human society without their eyes, if they returned at all.

 

Whatever else they might discover here in Wyndcliff, a place where such a mixed group of people and creatures lived in harmony was a sort of magical discovery all to itself. It was no wonder, Xelloss reflected, that so few people knew of the place, or that people in a more worldly and ordinary town like Mystport thought there was something very strange about it.

 

They had climbed up several levels and were halfway to "the top of town," as the cat man had said, when they came in view of the grove of tall, dark evergreen trees he'd seen from a distance. Under the trees, he could now see a white wall, and over the top of the wall he caught another glimpse of the gilded roof of a large building. There was a gate in the middle of the wall, and the roof over the gate was intricately carved and painted with all kinds of fantastic creatures.

 

Xelloss recalled Rya trying to convince her friend that he and Zelgadis were only strangers from Wyndcliff - a beast man and a priest from a strange temple, she'd said. Herringull had mentioned a temple, too, as well as the ancient ruins. He wasn't surprised to see Zelgadis already eyeing the wall and gate curiously. It certainly did seem to be quite an elaborate place for such a tiny village. Idly, he wondered which of the Dragon Lords it was dedicated to, or if it honored Ceiphied himself. Anything was possible in a backward little town like this, he thought, as they steered their way across the street toward the gate.

 

There was a gatekeeper sitting quite at his ease under the carved roof, leaning back in his chair with his feet up on a stump of wood that held an offering box. He was a short and rather round looking man, but his face was hidden behind the book that he was reading - a book with a familiar looking, brightly painted cover. He couldn't make it out, but it didn't seem to be the same picture as the one he carried. Xelloss grinned as he felt Zelgadis' irritation flare up again.

 

He opened his mouth to make an appropriately annoying comment when he was stopped short by a wave of pure, dark fury, so strong and familiar it almost made him moan out loud. Zelgadis had stopped in his tracks and stood glaring down at the man, who had peered up over the edge of his book when he noticed strangers approaching.

 

Before the gatekeeper could react, Zelgadis drew his sword and leaped forward. Xelloss blinked in surprise when he slashed the book out of the man's hands, sending pages fluttering out into the rain. In the next second, as the man's startled eyes nearly bugged out of his head, Zelgadis pounced on him with a cry of rage and knocked him backward off his chair. They landed with the man pinned against the wall behind him.

 

"My, my," Xelloss said. He felt nearly breathless with the force of Zelgadis' emotions, and amused as well, but puzzled. He knew Zelgadis wasn't happy about Martina's book but he wasn't sure why he was quite so enraged by the sight of one more ordinary person reading it.

 

"Zelgadis-san?" he said mildly. He walked up and peered over Zel's shoulder. The round-faced man quivered under his grip, blinking sweat out of his eyes as he stared up at the chimera's snarling face.

 

"Don't you remember this one, Xelloss?" Zelgadis growled through gritted teeth. "Perhaps not, but I certainly remember you!" He gave the man a fierce shake. "Deputy Shrine Keeper Marcus!"

 

"Z-z-Zelgadis-san!" The stumpy little man stuttered in a desperate attempt at a friendly greeting. "And, oh my, X-Xelloss-san! S-s-so glad to s-s-see you b-both - alive and w-well!" the man stammered. He shook like a leaf, but he tried to smile even though his teeth were chattering enough to shatter. "D-deeply regret we p-parted on such b-bad terms..."

 

Xelloss leaned in closer for a better look at the man. "Ah, I do seem to remember the face, now that you mention it," he said. "The one who led you away to the shrine, isn't it?"

 

"The one who said Mazoku aren't capable of feeling pain!" Zelgadis snarled. The tip of his sword blade nicked the Shrine keeper's chin. Marcus yelped, but then thought better of that and went still.

 

Xelloss let the man's fear and the tiny glint of pain wash over him, but that was nothing compared to the intense pleasure he felt in the aura of Zelgadis rage. He stood there beaming down at the two of them happily. It was one of the most wonderful things he'd ever felt.

 

"Wrong about that," Marcus wheezed after a few seconds of silence. He managed to nod his head a little, giving Xelloss a nervous little twitch of a smile. "Learned a l-l-lot about M-Mazoku since then...Think quite w-well of them now..."

 

"Liar!" Zelgadis hissed.

 

Marcus winced and closed his eyes for a second, then nodded again. He blinked up at them and smiled weakly at Zelgadis, but without much hope. Xelloss smiled back at him benevolently. He always recognized that intriguing shift of emotion that a man felt when he realized he was about to die. He could have stood there all day bathing in Zel's intoxicating rage, but even amid the bliss he was feeling, he still had just enough presence of mind to think of practical matters.

 

He put his hand on Zel's sword arm, gently holding him back. Zelgadis snapped his head around. His eyes blazed; he looked more like a demon than Xelloss had ever seen him look before.

 

"You had your vengeance, Xelloss! This one is mine!"

 

"Of course!" Xelloss said mildly. "But before you kill him, I thought we might ask him where the other two Shrine Keepers are. Remember, Argo and Vargus escaped as well."

 

Zel frowned at him. Obviously, he didn't care about the other Keepers at that moment. Impatiently, he turned back to Marcus and gave him another shake. "Well? Speak quickly, and I'll make your death quick as well. Otherwise, we'll find out if a Deputy Shrine Keeper can actually feel real pain..."

 

"I don't know!" Marcus squealed. "I swear it. I haven't seen either of them since I left the... that place! I don't want to, either. I want nothing to do with Sh-Shimeria any more! B-believe me! It was wrong..." he shook his head. For a moment, he seemed to be looking at something else, not at Zel's face or the sword pressed against his throat. His voice dropped almost to a whisper. "All wrong... I've seen it now..."

 

Xelloss sighed. "A shame. We'll just have to keep searching for the others, then."

 

He lifted his hand from Zel's arm and stepped back to give him room. "Even so, Zel-san, I suggest you make it swift. Too much screaming could bring us more attention than we might like, especially if you want to make friendly enquiries at this temple later."

 

Zelgadis hesitated. For a moment Xelloss thought the chimera's heart would be softened by Marcus' whimpering and his tears, but the rage within Zelgadis did not waver. Xelloss remembered all that Zelgadis had said that morning, and felt something inside his soul clench in a strange way when he realized how strongly Zel had meant those words. He had only paused to savor the moment - and to share it with Xelloss.

 

Rather than worrying whether Zelgadis would change his mind and release the man, Xelloss found himself a little concerned that he really didn't care how much Marcus screamed.

 

Zelgadis pulled Marcus up by the collar with one hand, and drew back his arm to plunge his sword into the man's chest. Marcus closed his eyes and went limp.

 

"Forgive me, Mother," he whispered.

 

Xelloss stared at him, startled. Something about the whispered plea cut through his haze of pleasure like a bright shard of light.

 

"Zelgadis!" The shout from a sharp female voice startled them both. "Don't kill him!"

 

"Why not?" Zel snarled. His head snapped up and around, then he froze.

 

Xelloss turned toward the voice as well, and his jaw fell open in surprise. He barely recognized the voice, but there was no mistaking the glaring face or the wreath of wild, golden hair on the woman who stood in the temple gate.

 

"What!" Zelgadis gasped. "Kemara?"

 

"You cannot kill him, Zelgadis-san," Kemara said with all the stern certainty Xelloss recalled glimpsing in her, "because this place is Sanctuary. You stand on the threshold of the Temple of the Golden Lord, the Mother of All."

 

Zelgadis panted with rage, but he didn't move. Staring wide-eyed at her, Xelloss grabbed his arm and drew the sword away from Marcus. Zelgadis glared back at him, bewildered.

 

"Perhaps this is not the time or place, Zel-san," he said quietly.

 

His calm voice had more of an effect than Kemara's command. Although Zelgadis still radiated pure fury and he stared at Xelloss as if he'd gone mad, he dropped Marcus' collar and stepped back. The former Keeper sagged against the wall.

 

"Thank you," Marcus whispered shakily "Thank you... 'preciate it, really...."

 

Zelgadis stared speechlessly from Xelloss to Kemara for a few seconds. She glared back at each of them, bristling with anger at first, but then softened into a familiar smile.

 

"Xelloss-sama, Zelgadis-san! Welcome to Wyndcliff village and the Temple of the Golden Lord. Enter, if you wish. All beings are welcome here."

 

 

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to be continued...