Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Detour ❯ Chapter Six ( Chapter 6 )

Detour

by Rose Thorne

Disclaimer: Slayers is owned by a bunch of folks who aren't me. I'm borrowing them for my perverse pleasure, much as Xellos borrows emotions for his.

Chapter Six

The innkeeper had been reluctant to rent Zelgadis a room, and had eventually agreed only because Xellos was with him. The chimera had ordered dinner and immediately retreated to the room to eat, and Xellos knew he could sense the obvious suspicion and hostility being directed at him by the other patrons. It was actually ironic, given that Xellos was Mazoku, and Zelgadis had originally been human.

Xellos left him to his own devices, nursing a cup of tea and enjoying the emotions of those around him. They surged further when a bandaged man entered the restaurant and made a beeline for the bar, where he downed several drinks before starting up a steady grumbling at the barkeep. The other patrons seemed just as intrigued as Xellos, if for different reasons.

A waitress scowled at the man. “Looks like you tried to rob the wrong person.”

The man ordered another drink, returning the scowl. “They looked like kids. How was I supposed to know one was a sorceress?” He chugged his drink. “Biggest damn fireball I ever saw!”

That had Xellos' full attention, and he smiled benevolently at the man. “A sorceress, you say?”

The man grunted. “Bright red hair, flat-chested.”

“Ah. That would be Lina Inverse. I didn't know she was in this area.” His grin widened as the man's aura spiked in terror. “If you tried robbing her, I'm surprised you're alive to tell the tale.”

“The Bandit Killer?” Standing unsteadily, the man tossed some coins on the bar and hurried toward the door. “I'm getting as far from here as possible, then! Thanks for the warning, friend.”

Xellos sat back to finish his tea, considering. Perhaps he wouldn't have to take Zelgadis all the way to Seyruun after all. The chimera would undoubtedly be relieved, and hopefully it would have the added impact of stopping his moping.

He stood and ducked out of sight before using the Astral Plane to reach the room instantaneously. There he was mildly surprised to find Zelgadis standing naked, the washbasin on the bed, apparently bathing.

“There is a bath downstairs, Zelgadis-san.” Though, with the hostility of the other patrons, Xellos wasn't surprised that he'd opted to stay out of sight.

“Xellos!” The chimera quickly grabbed his cloak and wrapped it around himself. “Haven't you ever heard of knocking?”

The Mazoku frowned as he felt Zelgadis' self-disgust and embarrassment. “It's nothing I haven't seen before. After all, you were completely naked in that tank, and I had to carry you to that inn.” Blue demon eyes stared at him in shock, and he continued. “I've never understood your shame for your body, Zelgadis-san. There is nothing wrong with it.”

He was surprised when the chimera lunged at him, fisting a hand in his shirt and shoving him against the wall. Zelgadis was angry, but the emotion was woven around humiliation and hurt. “You don't have to endure this accursed body, you bastard! You couldn't possibly understand!”

Xellos regarded Zelgadis with open eyes for a moment, then smiled slightly. “Why, Zelgadis-san, I didn't realize you were interested in me in quite this way.” The chimera froze, and he pulled playfully at the cloak wrapped around his waist. “It's not every day I find myself pushed against a wall with someone naked holding me. I'm flattered.”

Zelgadis released him and jumped back so quickly that Xellos was almost left off balance. The Mazoku straightened as he felt a wave of emotion hit him—the humiliation, hurt, and anger, with the addition of something he hadn't expected; a bit of fear.

“Get out.” The sorcerer's voice was low and controlled, but his body shook slightly and his eyes were averted. The fist holding the cloak around his waist was clenched so tightly it was turning white.

Xellos blinked at him, still surprised by the twinge of fear. Why would he be afraid? “Zelgadis-san,” he started, but was cut off.

“Leave now, or I will cast Ra Tilt and damn the consequences,” Zelgadis growled. “I'm tired of your games.”

Just drawing on the Astral magic would cleave Zelgadis into three, ending his life and destroying his soul; he probably wouldn't even be able to finish the spell before it killed him. Xellos decided not to risk calling his bluff and phased out to the Astral Plane, leaving the chimera to calm down.

--

Zelgadis didn't calm down. He was far too agitated.

Even knowing Xellos was Mazoku and could turn on them with no qualms at any time, he had rarely actually been afraid of the trickster, and even then that fear had been tinged with reluctant awe at his power. Then, even if Xellos could kill him, Zelgadis' own power would have, he hoped, made him take such a battle seriously.

Now it was different. He had no power to do anything against a Mazoku, especially one of Xellos' rank. The priest could do whatever he wanted, and Zel wouldn't be able to stop him.

This fear and weakness was intolerable, and he still had no idea what Xellos wanted with him. So the Mazoku's actions and words had scared him. In all honesty, that was probably the one way he hadn't been violated at this point. It was the only thing he had left, and Xellos had toyed with it.

At this point Zelgadis was willing to risk being killed traveling alone if it meant he didn't have to deal with the Mazoku's games any longer. He knew well enough that Xellos could easily find him even if he didn't have Lina's typical trail of destruction to follow, but right now it didn't matter. He was damned if he was going to just sit and wait for Xellos to do whatever he had planned.

It took about an hour for him to work up the nerve to actually leave, but he quickly bundled up and got ready before he changed his mind. Pulling his hood low and pulling up his scarf, he left the room and descended the stairs. With any luck, he'd be out of town before Xellos even realized he was gone.

Not that he had any luck, he realized as he entered the restaurant. The bar was completely full, and when he tried to walk by to get to the exit, a burly drunk blocked his way.

“You're that freak swordsman from earlier,” the man growled, and Zelgadis groaned internally as he recognized the bandit from the group that had accosted them a few miles from town. “You killed two of my friends.”

“They were trying to kill me,” the chimera responded easily, glancing around for an escape route only to find that he'd been surrounded.

“And I'll succeed where they failed, monster. You deserve this; they didn't.”

The bandit suddenly flung the remaining ale in his pint in Zelgadis' face, and he stumbled a bit as the alcohol burned his eyes. He felt something hard hit his back and heard the splinter of wood and realized that someone had hit him with a barstool. He managed to regain his eyesight in time to see a bottle raised over his head, but he stood his ground; the glass wouldn't cut his stone skin anyway.

But the bottle never descended. Instead it exploded in the man's hand, flinging shards of molten glass everywhere. The people around him yelped as they were cut and burned, and Zelgadis realized that none of the shards had hit him at all. They probably wouldn't have done any damage, but he should have been hit by them given his proximity to the blast.

In the ensuing confusion, Zelgadis managed to get out of the group. Someone touched his shoulder. He turned to find Xellos, and immediately moved away from his hand. The Mazoku frowned at him, but didn't say anything, instead turning back toward the chaos he had probably created. It just figured that the commotion would attract Xellos' attention and he'd stick his nose in. Now there was no way he'd get away.

The drunks seemed unwilling to risk going near him, which was fine by him, but the innkeeper stalked over. “Who's going to pay for this damage?”

Zelgadis raised his head and glared, and the man looked away. “They attacked, not me.”

“Pay up and leave. You're not welcome here.” The innkeeper turned to Xellos. “Clearly you can't control your pet.”

Zelgadis bristled, but Xellos responded first. “He is a person, not a pet. Your reaction is hardly his fault.” The Mazoku's cold tone surprised the chimera. “We did not stay the night, so we owe you nothing.”

The innkeeper frowned and muttered, but didn't argue. “Get out of here before I change my mind.”

The chimera immediately turned and headed for the door, not waiting for Xellos. He could hear the Mazoku hurry after him. “Zelgadis-san, the supplies…”

Zelgadis adjusted the pack in an obvious way as they stepped outside. Xellos touched his shoulder again and he yanked his arm away, glaring. “You were leaving?” The Mazoku looked surprised.

He didn't answer, instead trudging through the snow toward the edge of town. Xellos followed him, but didn't press the issue.

--

They hadn't been able to find shelter, so after several miles of walking, Zelgadis had left the road and set up camp on the protected side of a snowdrift. The chimera had actually dug out part of the snowdrift and settled in with his cloak wrapped tightly around him, not bothering with a fire. Xellos had retreated to the Astral Plane shortly afterwards.

Zelgadis hadn't spoken to him at all, and Xellos didn't know why. He could sense that the swordsman was angry, but there was still that underlying fear that didn't seem to have a reason. Normally, he'd enjoy that emotion no matter what the cause, but right now he found himself concerned.

The fear didn't make sense to him. There was nothing to fear. The only possible explanation he could think of for that fear was the issue of Zelgadis being vulnerable to magical attacks. Even that didn't make complete sense given that the chimera was clearly leaving the inn on his own when the fight broke out, but at least it was a start.

He was still shocked at his urge to alleviate the chimera's fear, but at this point he really didn't know what to do with it except give in. While he had never done so himself, he knew there were ways to create items that would form a protective shield against magic for the wearer. That would, at least, help in making Zelgadis less vulnerable until Lina and Amelia could figure out how to undo the damage and make him whole again, if it was possible.

Xellos hadn't had the opportunity to let Zelgadis know that Lina was apparently in the area, but he could do that tomorrow when the chimera was awake. For now, he could concentrate on creating a protective amulet. He doubted it would take much time to make, even if he wanted it to be powerful enough to protect Zelgadis from higher-level attacks—nothing as powerful as Dragon Slave, but that would be practically impossible anyway.

He kept some of his awareness in the mortal realm in case the bandits from the inn decided to ambush the slumbering chimera, and got to work.

Okay, so even in Chicago I find myself writing this fic. I'm basically using my laptop and stealing wireless access to post this, whenever it does get posted since I'm writing this without internet access. Dummy me forgot my flash drive, or I'd post it now on a borrowed computer. But it'll be up soon.

Zelgadis was, again, being an uncooperative jerk while I was trying to write. Chrissy helped me; she recommended that I hide his coffee and generally listened to me ramble until it all cleared up. She's so good to me!

More should be written soon, but I have a TON on my plate for a while.