Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Roses ❯ Hell ( Chapter 7 )

Hell

THUD

"Xellos, knock it off! Stop rolling off the bed like that."

"But-"

"I don't care. People downstairs are complaining. You can't even stand up, why are you trying to get out of bed?"

"I-"

"Never mind, if it's from you, I don't want to hear any of it."

"Sorry."

"We figured some things out about what the hell's going on. Urf! You're heavy, you know that?" she said, putting him back on the bed and throwing the blanket on him."

"Sorry."

"What do you mean `sorry?' You're a Mazoku! You're a smart-ass! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Secret."

"I hate to say it, but that's better."

"I believe you found something out."

"The burn mark was right under his right shoulder blade, right?"

"Unless it moved."

"That's a weakening spell used by dragons. They probably put that on him so they could catch him. Amelia said Filia told her about it."

"I never expected Filia to be useful."

"I didn't know they were dragons, hell I didn't know they were competent. Three days before we got your letter about Zel those guys asked if I would hunt a chimera. I thought they meant one of Eris's things, a fish thing, or a mud-monster. I yelled at them and Dragonslaved them."

"Who's Eris?"

"Eris is Rezo's girlfriend."

"Oh that Eris."

"What do you mean `Oh, that Eris?'"

"Zelgadis mumbled something about her in his delirium, she's his grandmother."

"God, is his family messed up."

"So you came to tell me the Dragons have a weakening spell, what use is that? I'm going to kill them either way."

"Xellos, you can't even get up."

"Where there's a will, there's a way."

"And where there's a Mazoku, there's a bad idea and a loud noise."

"Where are they going with Zelgadis?"

"Don't know, they headed west. That's all we know, I was hoping you knew a few things."

"Bounty hunters."

"Why would dragons be bounty hunters?"

"Probably orphaned eggs after the war. Wait, Filia didn't tell you about that."

"About what?"

"While she was searching for you, the black and gold Dragons were fighting over who got to be the ones to fulfill the prophecy with the humans."

"That's pretty trivial."

"Dragons are like that."

"So are Mazoku."

"We're more efficient."

"Just go on."

"Don't know why they want Zelgadis. Ogres found them… making some noise and they took Zelgadis, while the dragons probably flew away. That's the only way to escape an Ogre."

"What's an Ogre?"

"A mess."

"What?"

"Some idiot a long time ago wanted a very powerful neutral creature, somehow they managed to get a dragon and a Mazoku to mate."

"Eww."

"I agree. The experiment was abandoned when they saw that it was magicless and hideous. Somehow it bred with a human, and the offspring bred with each other."

"Ugh."

"Yes. They like to hurt things, but they aren't smart enough to do more than hit other creatures, so they watch and learn, then they hurt people."

"I guess Zel must have screamed or something to make noise to attract those creatures."

"You could say that."

"Any ideas?

"No useful ones."

"You're hiding something, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am."

"What?"

"Secret."

"I don't have time for this, Xellos, tell me what the hell you're up to or I'll have Amelia sing `Life is wonderful' to you!" she yelled, grabbing him by his cloak.

"I'm leaving as soon as I can fell my legs, even if I have to jump out the window."

"There's no stopping idiots, is there?"

"Not usually."

"Fine, have it your way."

"That's the way I like best."

She dropped Xellos on the bed. He didn't make any effort to rearrange himself on the bed.

"One more thing," she said, just before leaving. "What are you up to?"

"I don't understand."

"Why are you going to so much trouble over Zel and not just showing up, throwing him at us, and then leaving."

"Secret."

Three days later …

"Can't you get hired by people with smooth roads?" Rosencrantz asked from the back of the hay-cart that constantly threatened to flip over from the jolts of the cobblestone road.

"Maybe you could find a Chimera who doesn't have a Mazoku following it."

"Ice Flow!"

"You say something?" Guildenstern asked.

"No, you?"

"Weird."

The horse yelped as its metal-clad hoof slipped on smooth frozen ice.

"What the hell?" Rosencrantz yelled. Now the cart really was threatening to capsize.

"Jump, take the thing with you!" Guildenstren yelled, trying to control the horse, who was panicking on the frictionless surface.

"But-"

"Just do it!"

Rosencrantz jumped.

"Fire-storm!"

The trees on either side of the road burst into giant red flames, birds and other animals screeched as they were burnt alive.

Rosencrantz screamed as he tumbled into the burning wreckage. He hit the ground, the chimera, the expensive chimera, went sliding out of view, and he tumbled into the flames, wings instinctively shooting out and catching on fire.

Something huge and heavy crashed. The cart.

He crawled out of the burning forest, wings still in flames, string to engulf the rest of him.

"Guildenstern? Guildenstern?"

Something landed at his feet. He picked it up to see what it was, and threw it away, freaked out. It was a head. It was Guildenstern's head.

"I'd worry about yourself at the moment," a figure said, emerging from the smoke.

"You killed him."

"He was dead already." The figure said, limping. "I just took his head off. It was a clean death, or at least it will be compared to yours."

"I remember you. I killed you."

The figure chuckled, and grabbed Rosencrantz's neck. "Mazoku don't die, they just some back for revenge. Stop struggling, it's useless. You don't know what I'm going to do to you, do you?"

Rosencrantz Shook his head, his hair on fire.

"I'm going to watch you burn to death. If you weren't a dragon, I'd do the same thing you did to Zelgadis."

"The chimera?"

"Yes, the chimera."

"Please!"

"What could you offer me?"

"I know where he lives. Joran! His name's Joran! He wants a chimera to works spells on. Rezo used to give chimeras away, but he's dead, so he had us hunt down the last one. He said he'd pay five times as much if he was sent-senter-if he could think. He lives just over those mountains, in the distance, now let me go."

"I never agreed to that."