Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Poison ❯ 5 ( Chapter 5 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Title: Poison (ch. 5 of ??)
Author: Tsutsuji
Date written: June-July, 2005
Rating: PG13 - T (safe for teenagers, at least for now)
Pairings: Zelgadis/Xelloss
Type: yaoi/slash, adventure
Warnings: hurt/comfort, angst

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

Summary: The plot thickens and the UST increases! Zelgadis finds a little hope and a lot of frustration as his search for a cure continues. And Xelloss isn't having such a great day, either!

*****
Poison, chapter 5


The crowed thinned after Zelgadis and Xelloss left the market town, but even so, a steady stream of traffic filled the high road. Most of it consisted of pilgrims on their way to the Shrine, with a smaller stream of those who had already been healed going back the other way. Occasionally a cart rolled by carrying those who were unable to walk. Zelgadis now saw that most people wore at least a bracelet or a pendant in Shimer's style. A few had spent a lot of time shopping and managed to look even more outrageous than Shimer himself.

The land was flat and open between the hills and the Shrine city, with narrow strips of farmland where canals brought water from the rivers. Beyond that, there was nothing but grey prairie stretching into the distance. Beside the road numerous signs and posters advertised Relic sellers all over the valley.

"Miracle Cures!" read the words on the posters in large, ornamental letters. "Most Amazing Results Ever! Quick and Effective! Available Exclusively At Our Store While Supplies Last!"

Some of the posters contained testimonials from the fortunate ones who had been cured at a particular shop; many of them gave lurid details that Zelgadis cringed to read. "Before" and "After" pictures appeared on some of them as well, with the inevitable smiling faces of the "Afters."

"Just think," Xelloss said, reading one of these over Zel's shoulder, "Your face could appear soon on a poster just like this!"

Zelgadis imagined his stone face frowning from one of these signs, with a beaming, human face next to it. He wanted that human face, but he couldn't imagine himself with one of those goofy grins, no matter how human he was.

"No, thank you," he said, grimacing at the advertisements. He tried to ignore them completely after that, even though that left only his happy-faced fellow travelers to look at. It was either them or the barren landscape.

Half a mile away to their left Zelgadis saw a strip of green land that even included a few trees. They grew along a path and a canal that ran parallel to the main road. Occasionally, he saw a cart pulled by donkeys plodding along that path, and small barges pulled by oxen passed by on their way toward the market town and the first river.

"That's the low road, apparently," Xelloss said, following his gaze. "The tradesman's route, I expect, leaving the high road open for travelers."

A couple walking nearby nodded. "Yes, that's right," the man said. "That's the way the jewels are brought to market, so I've heard. In the old days, they say this road was only traveled by royalty and rich merchants, and everyone else used the canal roads. The Drover's Road, they call it."

The woman looked wistfully at the trees that grew here and there along the canal while she mopped the sweat off her neck. "At least there's a bit of shade over there," she said.

The man patted her hand. "We'll be at Midtown soon, and get a nice cold drink at the inn," he said. "And then, we'll search the shops in town for the relic that will allow us to have a family at last!"

The woman's eyes lit up, in spite of the heat. The couple smiled at each other lovingly, cuddling close together while they walked. Xelloss scooted around to the other side of Zelgadis, away from them.

Zelgadis didn't quite manage to hide his laughter. Xelloss gave him a sidelong glance and then focused his attention on the road ahead. The couple strolled along at a dreamy pace, and Zel and Xelloss soon left them far behind.

Zelgadis saw many other travelers fan themselves or mop their sweating brows, but even suffering from the heat didn't stop them from being happy. He couldn't feel the sun beating down as they did, but he began to feel the glare of their smiles hitting him like a heat wave. Xelloss looked like he was wilting.

"Would you like to borrow my cloak? Maybe the hood would help protect you," he said, only half jokingly.

"Very thoughtful of you to offer, Zelgadis-san," Xelloss replied. "I'm trying to build up a resistance - like getting a tan, in a way!"

He favored Zel with a glimpse of a violet eye, grinning at his own joke. Zelgadis returned a crooked smile and hurried along.

Even with Xelloss looking like he was swimming upstream, they moved along faster than most of the other traffic on the road. By mid-afternoon they started to pass shops and houses again, and before they knew it, they were passing through a low stone wall that marked the boundary of Midtown.

Midtown was much larger than the market village at the crossroads; its tall buildings stretched far along the wide main street. A row of fountains shimmered in the middle of the road. On either side, inns with elaborate facades worthy of Shimer's style lined the road. Even more dazzling fountains danced in the courtyards of many of them. Moving lights glimmered magically around the signs on the front of the inns, highlighting names like Jewel of the Valley, Starlight Inn, and The Rivers. Porters hovered near the doorways, eager to escort travelers inside, and relics were sold on every corner.

The streets became crowded again, and the people here seemed even more energetically cheerful than before. The didn't just greet each other, they met and talked like old friends, comparing stories of their journey so far and miracles they'd witnessed.

Walking up the street and craning their necks at the ever more elaborate inns, Zelgadis and Xelloss soon noticed that many eyes turned to them with excited glances. People nodded to each other, even pointing at them excitedly.

"Just as I expected," Xelloss said happily. "They like you here, Zelgadis-san! It appears that your reputation has preceded you to Midtown."

"Reputation? What are you talking about? What are they talking about?"

Some of the relic sellers started waving at them as soon as they came in sight. Merchants gestured wildly and danced outside the doors of their shops, trying to lure them inside.

"Special today on curse-breaking amulets!" one of them cried like a carnival barker. "Best restorative relics in the Valley right here!" cried a rival across the street. They looked like they were going to pop a blood vessel or two in their efforts to get Zel's attention. They got the attention of the crowd, at least. More people paused to watch him walk by, smiling expectantly.

"Obviously," Xelloss continued, "you're one of the most noticeable and challenging cases the valley has seen. Probably news of what happened at Tambor's shop and word of your personal invitation from the Chief Shrine Keeper has already spread among the hopeful. If Shimer's power can cure a chimera like you, surely it can cure the simple afflictions of these poor souls! That must be what they're hoping for, at any rate. You've become quite a celebrity, and I expect you'll be even more famous once you're human again. And of course, every seller of relics wants to be the one who can put your face on his advertising brochures!"

"I don't want to be famous," Zel muttered uncomfortably. "I just want to be human." He was quickly finding that it was not much better to be stared at with eager, friendly eyes than it was to be stared at with disgust. He felt like a freak in a sideshow, with the audience waiting for him to perform some trick for their amusement. The desperation of the relic sellers was embarrassing.

"Let's get off this main street," he said. "These inns all look too.... expensive, anyway. There must be other places to stay the night in this town."

"Perhaps this will help," Xelloss said.

He was leaning forward on his staff and peering at a cluster of signposts pointing in all directions. Zelgadis saw that the dozens of signs gave the names of inns and shops all over Midtown. He looked up and down the posts, baffled by the number of choices. Finally one caught his eye, mainly because it looked so much simpler than the others.

"Kari's Inn and Restaurant," it said in plain lettering. "Quiet, restful location with canal frontage. Traders welcome. Home-cooked food, private baths, reasonable rates."

From the directions given on the sign, it looked like the place was about as far off the High Road as they could get and still be in Midtown. At least there would be fewer people to stare at him, and he didn't think Xelloss would object to getting out of the crowd for a while. He could always come back quietly later to see if the relic sellers actually had anything worth buying.

It took nearly half an hour, including getting lost once in the narrow streets behind the great inns, but when they finally found the place there was no mistaking it. Kari's Inn sat comfortably on a strip of open land beyond the clustered buildings of the town, a little bit of countryside that had crept across the canal and planted itself inside the city limits. The country style inn offered no lighted signs or dancing fountains in the courtyard and, more importantly, no swarms of smiling faces. A sign hung over the door that faced toward Midtown, but the main entrance was on the other side of the building, toward the Drover's Road.

As they approached, a young woman hurried around the corner of the building carrying a basket of carrots from a kitchen garden, grumbling under her breath and too busy to notice them. A moment later, a man in workman's clothes stomped down the steps and barely even glanced at them as he passed. He smelled of wine and garlic.

"Well, what do you know," Zel said. "There's another side to the Valley of Shimeria after all."

"How very refreshing," Xelloss said. He smiled with relief and leaned heavily on his staff. He did look worn out, but Zelgadis was certain he was exaggerating his weariness.

"You're starting to look your age, Xelloss," he said with a grin as he led the way through the door.

Kari, the innkeeper, was a bustling woman with a toddler riding on her hip, both of them cheerful in the ordinary way of country innkeepers. She led them up the stairs, apologizing that she only had one room available, but it was the best in the place. Xelloss slowly plodded up behind them. Kari opened the door to a room with windows that looked down on the placid canal and the Drover's Road. The large, plain room had two beds, Zelgadis noted, far apart on either side of the door.

Kari opened the windows wide so Zelgadis could admire the view. While they were standing there looking at the tree-lined path, they heard a thump, the creak of springs, and a loud sigh. They turned to see Xelloss lying flat out on one of the two beds, looking limp as a dishrag.

"Is your friend okay?" Kari asked with a worried glance at Zelgadis.

Xelloss lifted a limp hand and wagged his fingers at them in a "not to worry!" gesture.

Zelgadis sighed. "He'll be fine, I suppose. He's just had a rather difficult day."

"Oh, well, then," Kari took another doubtful look at Xelloss before turning back to Zelgadis. "Inns uptown all full, are they?" she said.

"Er, we didn't check, actually," Zelgadis said. "We just prefer quieter surroundings."

"Well, you'll find it pretty quiet here. Unless Duglas comes in and starts moaning about the price of peas and his ungrateful wretch of a daughter, and gets someone to buy him too many drinks! He can go on at the top of his voice for hours. Anyway, this is the only room I've got, if you care to take it. Lots of bargemen passing through right now. They're all trying to beat the canal fees that go up again next week."

Kari frowned and shook her head. "I don't know what the Council is thinking, raising the fees for traders like that again, second time in a year, and the irrigation rents going up as well. Farmers can't afford to water their fields, but the fancy inns uptown have all the water they need for their fancy fountains! Pff! Sometimes I think that Council forgets that we all have to make a living around here, not just the relic sellers and the folks who live off the Shrine. 'Wealth trickles down like water through the rocks,' they like to say, meaning what's good for the Shrine is good for us all, but sometimes I don't know if they remember where their food comes from!"

She wrinkled her face in disgust, then stopped and laughed when her little girl tried to copy her expression.

"Don't mind me," she said to Zelgadis. "Grumbling about the Council is one of the ways we amuse ourselves around here. No fancy entertainment like you'd get uptown, I'm afraid!"

She turned around when they heard bedsprings creak again. Xelloss was now bouncing on the edge of the other bed, testing the spring of the mattress. He'd gone from looking like a one thousand year old man to looking like a kid in a candy shop.

"Don't mind him, either," Zelgadis said in response to her startled look. "He's just... easily entertained."

A few minutes later, Xelloss followed him to the dining room where he was served a meal that would not have disappointed Lina Inverse herself - except she would have put away three or four servings in the time it took Zel to savor the first course. Xelloss nibbled daintily and sipped his usual cup of tea, but Zelgadis guessed he got more refreshment from listening to the locals complain about the Council than he would have from a five-course dinner at one of the fancy inns "uptown."

The other patrons in the bar and dining room appeared to be bargemen and folks from the surrounding farmland. Zel risked going without his hood and scarf into the dining room, but he only got a few curious looks, with no rabid friendliness or hostility. They seemed to recognize him as just another pilgrim seeking a cure at the Shrine.

However, Xelloss caught more of their interest. Zel left his sword in the room with spells of protection on it, but Xelloss carried his staff with him. Several of the local folk raised their eyebrows, eyeing the red orb on his staff and the jeweled clasp of his cloak. They obviously knew those weren't the relics of Shimer that he wore.

Two women sitting at the bar nearby eyed them for a moment, and then began to whisper together over their drinks. They weren't so quiet that Zelgadis couldn't hear them with his extra-sensitive ears.

"A pair of sorcerers, looks like! What could they be doing in Shimeria?" said the woman with sun-streaked red hair.

"Not sorcerers," her companion answered. She had a round face with quick eyes, and, Zelgadis guessed, sharp ears for gossip. "The dark-haired one, he's a priest!"

"A priest!" the blonde said. "Well, that's a refreshing sight around here these days."

Her companion shook her head. "I heard talk from uptown about these two, from my friend who's a waitress up at The Rivers," she said. "They're on their way to the Shrine, of course. The stony-looking one is under some Black Magical curse, they say. Tried the best relics Tambor has to offer, they say, but it didn't help him any, so he's on his way to the Shrine by special invitation of the Keepers."

Zelgadis hid his face behind his hand so they wouldn't see he was eavesdropping on them, but he could feel them stealing glances at him over their shoulders.

"Pfsh, Tambor!" said the blonde dismissively. "He could do better than that right here in Midtown, if it's Relics he needs. Still... I don't know what his hurry is. I kind of like the way he looks now..."

Zelgadis ducked his head further, feeling his face flush with embarrassment. Judging by the beaming smile on Xelloss' face, he'd overheard their talk as well. Zelgadis glared at him.

"And the priest," the second woman went on confidentially, "Now, he's a nice looking young man, isn't he? Well, he's going along up to the City as well, they say. He's going to renounce his priesthood and rededicate himself at the Shrine!" She shook her head regretfully. "As if the world needs one more Follower of Shimer!"

Zelgadis blinked in surprise. So, not everyone in the valley was a fanatical follower of Shimer after all. That was interesting news. He caught Xelloss' eye.

"That's a load of crap, isn't it?" he said politely. "You, becoming a Follower of Shimer?"

"Of course it is! I'm only here to accompany you on your journey and help you find your cure! Why else would I be traveling through this beautiful valley among all these wonderful people we've met on the road!"

Zelgadis snorted. "Why do I ever bother to ask you a question? But that reminds me. What was all that talk back there in Tambor's shop about the gods and white magic? You said you'd explain all that. Not that I expect anything you tell me to make any sense."

"Ah, yes, that does need explaining, doesn't it?" Xelloss leaned forward and spoke softly. "Not many people realize that Shimer hated White magic, which calls on the power of the gods, as much as he hated Black magic. He lost quite a lot of followers when he said publicly that Ceiphied was no better than Shabranigdo!"

Zelgadis felt his mouth drop open. "He did? You're not joking?"

Xelloss held a finger to his lips and glanced meaningfully at the others sitting nearby. He went on even more quietly.

"It's the truth, but his followers in recent years haven't spoken openly about it. Shimer believed with his whole heart that humans should not depend on anyone but themselves, and that calling on the power of the gods was just as evil as calling on the power of demons. If you ask one of your Dragon friends, you'd find that they don't care for Shimer either. He even said that they are no better than Monsters themselves! Of course, you can imagine what an insult they took that to be."

Xelloss chuckled quietly. "Well, most humans agreed with him about the evil monster race, but there are many, many followers of that... ahem, of the admirable Ceiphied and the Dragon Lords, who felt offended by his attitude toward their gods. Shimer's popularity plummeted for a while, in spite of his reputation for healing. Construction was halted on the crystal city being built here in honor of his birth, due to the lack of donations. For years, Shimer couldn't draw a crowd in a marketplace.

"That was the situation until he began to wage his embarrassingly successful campaign against the Mazoku, culminating in the great battle at Demonend. That battle made his reputation as a hero - one with a peculiar flare for fashion, as you've seen. But then, a few years later, he managed to get himself killed by the Mazoku, in spite of his great powers."

Xelloss smirked and Zel caught a glimpse of one violet eye. "It would be ironic, wouldn't it," Xelloss said in his low voice, "if Shimer, the great champion of Humanity, was actually killed by Gaav, the one Mazoku with a partly human soul?" He sat back with a smug grin and took another sip of his tea before continuing his tale.

"After that, in the next few decades, Shimer's followers discovered that relics purified at his shrine still had the power to heal humans, and with that they began to rebuild his reputation. He's made such a comeback in the last few years that even you heard of him in your wanderings, which I presume is what led you here to seek your cure. But Shimer swore that his healing powers did not come from White magic, like the power your friends Amelia and Sylphiel use. He said, and his followers will swear to you, that the healing power of Shimer is the power of Humanity itself."

Zelgadis regarded him thoughtfully for a few minutes, digesting this unexpected news.

"And I presume this all has something to do with your own purpose in coming here?" he said. "Is this supposed power of Humanity to heal ourselves something that the Mazoku are worried about?"

Xelloss shrugged. "If such power existed in humans, it might be worth investigating. But, no, I can tell you that that's not why I'm here."

"You don't believe that Shimer discovered some new form of healing magic, do you?"

Xelloss shrugged again. "Let's just say, I haven't yet seen any evidence of it. Have you seen the power of Shimer accomplish anything yet that Rezzo couldn't have done with White magic?"

Zelgadis shivered at the mention of the Red Priest who had made him a chimera. "Not yet. But I hope to soon, because it will take a power at least as great as Rezzo's to make me human again."

He looked away from Xelloss, remembering the magical energy he'd felt emanating from the relics he'd worn. The power to undo what Rezzo had done to him could be here, if only he could find it. It didn't matter to him where it came from, as long as it made him human again.

"Well, then," Xelloss said, stretching back in his chair with his cup of tea. "You heard what our friends over there at the bar said, I assume? The quality of relics in this town may be much higher than the stuff in those shacks along the road. Perhaps you should visit the shops in town before continuing on to the Shrine? Of course, Tambor claimed to have the best relics in the valley, and the Chief Shrine Keeper himself agreed. On the other hand, I suppose Zuller might have wanted you to come to the Shrine for the publicity it would bring there. Just think of the scene that will be! The reputation of Shimer's power will grow even greater, and draw even more seekers to the Valley of Shimeria!"

Zelgadis thought of it, and it filled him with horror. The habit of being shy of crowds went deeper than his stone skin, and the idea of being paraded in public as an advertising stunt was unsettling, to say the least.

He scowled at Xelloss. "But you don't think it will happen, do you? I suppose it would amuse you a great deal if I reached the Shrine only to expose the fact that Shimer's power is not so great after all!"

Zelgadis felt as if someone had touched off a light spell in his mind. He sat forward suddenly, leaning across the table toward Xelloss.

"That's it, isn't it? The whole reason you've come with me? To discredit Shimer and halt the spread of his cult when his power fails to cure me?"

"Why would you think that!" Xelloss said, backing away with an expression of innocent surprise.

"Because you're.... " He stopped short, suddenly aware that their voices had become loud enough for those with normal ears to overhear. He dropped to a hissing whisper. "Because you're a lying, conniving, manipulative bastard, that's why!"

"Do you really think I'm as bad as all that? All I said was that I don't believe Shimer found any new form of magic in the power of humans. I didn't say his power isn't real at all. On the contrary, if you insist on pursuing this foolish quest to be human again, I think you've come to exactly the right place. But you felt the power in those jewels you wore for a while at Tambor's shop. What did you think of it, Zelgadis-san? Did it feel like White magic to you, or like something else?"

Zelgadis stared at him in frustration. As usual, the more innocent and sensible Xelloss sounded, the more he felt like he was being led astray. But he did remember the strong magic in the relics, and his sense that the cure would work if given time.

"I don't know. It seemed unusual in some way, but...."

"You looked as though you thought it might succeed, until the Shrine Keeper convinced you otherwise," Xelloss reminded him.

Zelgadis remembered his disappointment, and his reluctance to remove the relics when he could feel so much power in them, even as ugly as they were. Tambor had resigned himself to agreeing with Zuller, without pushing for the sale. But what if the shrine had some arrangement with this well-known shopkeeper to bring certain customers to the shrine instead, where their cure would be more dramatic? That would bring more people to the valley and be better business for both of them in the long run. Was that all he was to these Relic sellers and Shrine Keepers - a potential poster child for the power of Shimer?

"Damn, Xelloss! Talking to you only makes me think in circles!"

He stood up and stalked away from the dining room. On the porch that faced the canal he paused and tried to collect his thoughts. It still made sense to him that Xelloss would go to all this trouble just to ruin Shimer's reputation. Why else would he keep pushing Zelgadis to try the Relics again, especially when he claimed to prefer him in his present form, unless he thought the cure would fail dramatically in full view of an audience?

He wondered also why he should care if Zuller wanted the publicity from curing him. If the cure was real after all, it would be worth it, and besides, he didn't know for certain that Zuller had any such thing in mind. That idea came from the trickster priest's deceptive lips, although Zel couldn't figure out why Xelloss would want him to doubt the Shrine Keeper.

It occurred to him that Xelloss might only be trying to raise his frustration level as an antidote to the happiness he'd been exposed to all day. He no longer felt much sympathy for the Mazoku's discomfort. This was no different than the way he'd kissed Zelgadis awake in order to make him angry the morning before....

He immediately wished he hadn't thought of that. He'd been so distracted by the possibility of finding his cure that he'd managed to forget that moment, but now it came back to him with far too much clarity. He closed his eyes against the image, and tried to decide which was worse: a battle of words that he was bound to lose, or being teased with feelings he'd rather not have at all.

He stared across the canal to the endless flat lands beyond, where late afternoon shadows stretched from the Haunted Ridge toward the Shrine City. He tried not to remember that moment on the ridge, and the spark of heat he'd felt from that one brief touch. But of course, right on cue, Xelloss came through the doorway and stopped beside him. Zelgadis did his best to ignore him, until finally Xelloss spoke in a quiet voice.

"My apologies for unsettling you, Zel-"

Zelgadis snapped. That soft-voiced apology that could only be a lie was the last thing he could stand. He turned and grabbed Xelloss by the front of his shirt, spun around, and shoved him back against the wall.

"Don't apologize to me, damn you!" he snarled in Xelloss' face. "Just tell me what's going on!"

Xelloss said nothing. His eyelids lifted, only a little, and his lips curled up in a smile. For a second that smile distracted Zelgadis. He suddenly remembered just how dangerous Xelloss really was.

Then Xelloss' hand came up in front of his face, first finger raised. Zelgadis gritted his teeth and twisted his hands in the priest's shirt. No matter what Xelloss was, he would blast him through this wall if he said what Zel knew he was going to say. But instead, Xelloss placed his finger against Zel's lip and traced it with a feather-light touch.

Just as he'd done the morning before, Zelgadis froze in shock at the intimate touch, and at the flush of warmth that shot through his body in response to it. He was suddenly, terribly aware of the solid feel of Xelloss' body under his hands, and against his hips where Zelgadis had pinned him back against the wall. He had to fight the urge to pull Xelloss forward and press their lips together again.

Instead, he pushed Xelloss back, hard, listening to his head hit the wall with a satisfying crack. Zelgadis spun away without waiting to see his reaction and jumped from the porch.

He was around the corner and across the yard before he knew he'd decided to move. He stalked away into the maze of narrow streets as fast as he could go without breaking into a run. Within minutes he was lost again, but that suited him perfectly. All that mattered for the moment was getting as far away from Xelloss as possible.



He half expected Xelloss to come after him, or to suddenly appear hovering in the air in front of him, smiling in his smug way - right before he opened his eyes wide and blasted Zelgadis to dust for slamming him against the wall. He would prefer being blasted to being touched like that again; it would be so much simpler that way.

But the Mazoku didn't appear, and eventually Zel forced himself to slow down to a walk and get a grip on his emotions. Xelloss wouldn't use his powers here in the Shimeria valley, he realized, at least not while still he had some secret mission to complete - and especially not if he needed Zelgadis to help complete that mission.

That was what bothered him the most, besides the rush of sensation and feelings that Xelloss' touch had stirred in him: the idea that he was just a pawn in some scheme that Xelloss had dragged him into. Unfortunately, though, he couldn't pretend to himself that the urge to kiss Xelloss was some part of the Mazoku's scheme. It may have been awakened by Xelloss' attempt to distract or anger him, but the desire had been lurking inside him all along.

If only the Relics would work as advertised, he thought, not only to cure him but also to keep the Mazoku away. Then he could leave this Valley and be free of Xelloss and his schemes, and start to live a normal life at last. He fingered the bracelet on his wrist and let the beads roll over his pebbled skin, wishing their magic would work on him. At least the soft clicking sound they made helped distract him from his thoughts and calm his storm of emotions.

Zelgadis slowed to a stroll as he wandered through streets which were much more quiet and peaceful in this part of town. There was a walled garden behind one of the great inns, where a shallow pool reflected the drooping branches of a tree in flower. He stopped and let the calm of the place flow over him while the knotted thread of the questions in his mind unraveled.

He decided it didn't really matter if Zuller used his cure to bring more people to the valley, after all. More people would be cured of their problems, more curses broken, if Zelgadis served as a shining example of the power of Shimer. There would be even more joyful faces returning from the Shrine, more miracles happening in shops all along the way.

With his mind becoming clear, a feeling of hope returned. Zelgadis started to feel the joy of it as if he'd already found his cure, as if he was fully human again, with no demon to darken his emotions. He even began to imagine returning to his friends as the man they'd never seen, and how happy they would be for him. He would tell them all about the wonderful power of Shimer and his healing Relics. In fact, before he left, he'd be sure to pick up some souvenirs for each of them, perhaps some bracelets like this one he wore.

He sat on a bench in the garden and watched his fingers play over the glass beads. He realized he was smiling with his renewed sense of hope, thinking of sharing his good fortune with his friends. His smile grew so broad that his stone skin felt like it would crack open and let his human face show through.

Zelgadis wasn't used to feeling this sense of peace or to smiling like this. It was actually... painful. The smile burned his face, and his fingers twitched and stung as if he'd stuck his hand in a nest of bees.

The demon part of him must be reacting to the spell of healing on the bracelet, he thought suddenly. The dark inside of him started to rise like a cold rage, and he tried to thrust it back with his human side. He touched the beads again, trying to grasp the contentment he'd felt a moment ago, but it was slipping away. It felt like fire ants were crawling up inside his skin, and the sound of the beads clattered on his ears like claws scratching glass.

Zelgadis clamped his hand down over the bracelet to make it quiet. It burned his stone flesh with cold fire. In a panic he tore it off and would have flung it away, but stopped. He wanted to get it off of him, but he couldn't let it go.

He realized he was panting with the struggle between the demon side of him and the lure of the bracelet. He stared at the beads dangling from his fingers, amazed at their power. He'd only been wearing them for a little while and already they had begun to tear the three aspects of his nature apart.

The beads shimmered with an inner glow like sunlight on water, as if they'd been activated by the struggle. As he watched it swirl, feeling it with his shamanic senses, he suddenly realized that he couldn't remember putting the bracelet on again. He'd taken it off on the road and left it in his bag. How had it gotten back on his wrist? A shiver ran up his spine; he was certain he hadn't put the thing back on by choice.

"What kind of healing magic is this?" he wondered aloud.

His senses were trained to detect subtle energy in the spirit realm, so he let them weave their way between the forces pushing and pulling his hand, between the magic in the beads that made him want to cling to them and the magic inside his body that wanted to throw them far away. Underneath those spells there were others, twined around each other like the swirls of colored glass within the beads themselves. There was something disturbing about the way they were layered together and then disguised as one single spell.

Even though he held the thing at arm's length between his fingertips, he began to see tendrils of magic reach out to encircle his arm and try to burrow into his stone flesh. His shamanic senses started to sort out the spells that were layered into the beads.

There was one that made the bracelet attractive to a buyer's eye, a simple spell that any unscrupulous merchant might use on inferior goods. Another spell enhanced feelings of well being; it was one that was sometimes added to healing spells to calm the victim. Just sensing that one made him want to smile and stop worrying about anything. He let the demon part of him fend that spell off so he could continue his study.

Remembering what Xelloss had said about Shimer, he searched for magic that was completely unfamiliar. That would be the new power Shimer had discovered, if it existed. But all he could find were spells to make the bracelet irresistible and spells to promote feelings of hope and happiness. Woven among them was one very powerful but very ordinary White Magic spell of healing

Zelgadis sat back on the bench and stared at the thing in disbelief. Under all the glitz and glitter, this wonderful Relic of Shimer was nothing but a common talisman that any trained sorcerer could make. The way they were woven together was unique, and the combination of spells made it feel powerful, but it was all a deception.

Yet everything he sensed in this one bracelet could explain all that he'd seen in Shimeria so far. Healing spells could be embedded in jewels, especially certain stones and metals, strong enough to heal a sick child. Others could break a curse of fire or counteract a spell gone wrong. And certainly, ornaments drenched in these enchantments would bring infectious smiles to the wearers' faces, affecting even those who weren't wearing them. A whole crowd of people touched by these spells even at a distance would soon be dancing in the streets, no matter what was happening around them. Add a few miraculous cures and the result would be irresistible.

Obviously, it was effective. With these relics worn everywhere in the Valley, and carried out into the rest of the world, it was no wonder Shimer's popularity was growing by leaps and bounds. But it wasn't real. It was just ordinary magic. The great and wonderful healing power of Shimer was nothing but a fraud.

Zelgadis dropped the beads into the ground with a snarl and crushed them into dust. Hope died as the power of the spells flickered out of existence. Anger welled up in its place. Zuller knew of this, whether the merchants did or not. The Shrine Keeper didn't even need to prove that the chimera had been cured; just having him here got people excited, and rumor would do the rest, no doubt enhanced by a few posters - after all, any artist could draw him as a human. Zuller could say that he'd been cured at the Shrine, and that would be all it took.

And Xelloss, of course, must have known this all along. Zuller would lure him to the shrine, pretend to have cured him, and then Xelloss would make sure the truth was revealed, discrediting Shimer and the Keepers as the frauds they were. It was a perfect scheme on both sides. All it had needed was him.

Zelgadis wanted to kill both of them, but he supposed he'd better start with Zuller, since he didn't stand much of a chance against Xelloss. Anyway, he thought with a savage grin, why not let Xelloss go ahead and destroy the Shrine, if that's what he intended to do. It would put an end to the lie of Shimer and stop Zuller's schemes.

Zelgadis stood, grinding his heel one more time into the shards of the bracelet, and turned to leave the garden. He'd decide what to do next on his way back to the inn, whether to tell Xelloss what he'd discovered or simply take his things and leave the Valley. Either way, his search here was over.

He stopped when he sensed someone standing under the hanging boughs of the tree by the pool. The man stepped into view, but he already knew who it was before he saw the white hair and the smiling face.

"Zuller," Zelgadis said, his lip curling into a sneer. "Just the person I wanted to see."


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To be continued!
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Next: Zelgadis has a little talk with Chief Shrine Keeper Zuller, while Xelloss gets an earful back at the Inn. And then things get really complicated!

Notes: I know some readers object to random use of Japanese honorifics, but I just wish there was something as useful in English for revealing the subtle relationships between characters. I think they convey much more than terms like "Mr." Since Slayers is set in a culture that is neither Japanese nor truly Western, I'm taking the liberty of assuming that the language spoken in that world has something like honorifics that don't translate accurately into English. And anyway, Slayers' Japanese is liberally sprinkled with English words, so why shouldn't we borrow some terms back from that language? I only hope I'm using them right, and I hope someone will let me know if I'm messing it up.
Thanks!