Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Slayers Inheritance ❯ The Hounds Unleashed! Xellos Strikes! ( Chapter 9 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

SLAYERS INHERITANCE

�The Hounds Unleashed! Xellos Strikes!�

by Michael Hopcroft

�Anya Inverse here, and let me tell you I�m one confused girl. We were
on our way to Seyruun when who should we run into but my old friend
Prince Cardanis, fourth-in-lien for Seyruun�s throne. Yeah, I know he�s
a chimera, but he�s also a prince and a gorgeous hunk. So he goes and
kisses � TITANIA? I mean, Titania�s a nice girl and all, but at the
first meeting? I didn�t think he was that kind of guy. I�m gonna have to
watch that pair.�

On the road again, the four were keeping a constant lookout. �You never
know when bounty hunters or worse will strike,� Anya had explained as
they set out, �so we�ll have to be extra careful.�

Originally Anya had wanted to keep the four in a group, but Cardanis and
Titania had sort of fallen back, as if it was deliberate so that Anya
could not hear their conversation. And every time she looked back, she
saw that they were deep in conversation behind her back.

�They�re not paying attention!� Anya fumed. �Dammit, I need them to be
alert!�

Valgaav, who was still waling beside Anya smiled enigmatically at her.
�I think you can leave them be for a while, Anya. Really, have you ever
seen Titania calmer or more engrossed?�

�Well�. Now that you mention it, they do seem to be pretty happy with
each other back there. I wonder what they�re talking about.�

�Maybe the same things we should talk about,� Valgaav answered.

�If you�re insinuating what I think you�re insinuating,� Anya said,
�you�re going to be one crispy dragon before I�m though with you! �

�Five hundred and seventy-two.� Valgaav smiled. �that�s the number of
times your mother punched, body-slammed, fireballed or otherwise
assaulted your father for saying something stupid before she realized
what was really going on. I�m not trying to goad you or get under your
skin, Anya. Do you want the truth?�

Anya�s anger was replaced by a deepening blush. �The truth?�

�The truth. The truth is that ever since I met you, your happiness and
welfare is all I�ve been thinking about.�

�Valgaav�.�

�I�ve never had that happen before, so I can�t express it very well.
It�s just that, well, you�re important to me, Anya. If anything happened
to you I don�t know what I�d do.�

Anya was now blushing a furious crimson. �Valgaav , I � hell, I don�t
know WHAT to say. Nobody�s ever told me I�m important except my parents.�

�I think,� said Valgaav, �that you have become the most important thing
in my life.�

Anya decided the best thing to do was to shut up, so she did.

Meanwhile, behind them, Titania and Cardanis were talking in a much more
amiable way. But Titania was very serious. �It�s very dangerous to be
around me, Cardanis. You haven�t seen my power out of control. I can
understand you seeming to like me and all, but I could just as easily
kill you as anyone else if I went out of control, and I don�t want that.�

Cardanis shook his head sadly. �Titania, Titania, you don�t understand.
In my family, we�re used to taking risks like that. And let me tell you
something else � to fall in love always means risking pain. Rejection,
doubt and anxiety hurt as much as fireballs, if not more.�

Titania wanly smiled. �Fall in love? Is that what�s happening to us?�

�I think so,� Cardanis replied. �Now that we�ve had a chance to travel
and talk together, I can see that if we can get those powers of yours
sealed away that you would be a great companion for me. You�re
practical, down-to-earth, intelligent, and gorgeous to boot.�

�I don�t know. I don�t think I�d take to being a princess of a throne.�

�Oh, I�m a long way from a throne. I have three brothers and sisters
ahead of me in the line of succession, and I have no intention of doing
any leap-frogging. I�ll probably take a ministry somewhere in the palace
if I ever settle down there and advise my mother, and my brother once he
ascends. It takes a lot more to run a kingdom than a Queen. Besides, my
borther says he doesn�t want to inherit for many, many years. You know
what he told me one. He told me �the problem with being heir to a throne
is that, if you�re going to inherit, the mother you love has to die.� He
doesn�t want that.�

�The temptation must be strong.�

�Not really. Mother and father work 16-hour days running the kingdom,
and my brother the Crown Prince works and trains nearly as long. I hear
Mother and Father get about three hours of sleep every night.�

�Wow. That�s what I call dedication.�

�Dedication is the essence of royalty. If you let ambition get in the
way, you can�t do what�s right by your people.�

The next town was reached surprisingly without incident. There was only
one inn, and Anya promptly proceeded to eat it out of house and home.
Cardanis ate a somewhat less hearty meal, Titania picked at her food all
the while starting at Cardanis, and Valgaav occupied himself with a leg
of lamb.

The innkeeper walked in and presented the very large tab, which Cardanis
paid. �And how many rooms will you be needing tonight?� the innkeeper asked.

�Four!� cried Anya.

�Is that a wise use of our money?� Valgaav asked.

�I need to be alone for a while, OK? What�s wrong with that?�

�We have four rooms,� the innkeeper said, �which I will be happy to rent
to you four travelers. It�s not often we have a Prince of Seyruun here.�

Anya went to sleep right away as soon as she got into her room She began
to dream.

In the dream, she saw Valgaav�s smiling face. He was approaching her,
and she noticed he was nor wearing a shirt. �Anya,� he said.

�Yes, Val darling?�

�I love you. You know that, don�t you?�

�Yes I know.� Anya started to approach him, only to see him disappear.
In his place, equally shirtless, stood Xellos.

�Looks like I�ve found the weakness I�ve been looking for.� Xellos said.
�You belong with me, girl. Your power, the call of your blood, belongs
on our side. I could call you daughter too, you know. Or perhaps lover,
if that is the way you wanted to play it. Come to me, Anya. Come to
Wolfpack Island.�

�No! We�re going to Seyruun!�

�Ah, Seyruun. We can�t have that, can we? Imagine how a holy city would
react to a girl like Titania. They�d kill her on the spot. You know
that. You know her only safety is with me. Yours, too. What can you do
to stop me, really?�

Anya smiled enigmatically. �I can wake up. I know when I�m dreaming and
when I�m awake.�

�This isn�t an ordinary dream, you know.� Xellos said. �You can�t wake
up from it until I let you.� At that moment a burning pain struck her in
the forehead. �I know what you�re thinking � you can�t feel pain in a
dream. Well, this is different. I�ll be expecting you at Wolfpack
Island.� With that he disappeared.

�You bastard!� Anya cried. �Come back here!� And witht aht she woke up,
buty somehow her forehead still hurt.

Anya picked up a mirror and held it up to look at her face. To her
horror, she saw a burn in the shape on a fingerprint right in the middle
of her forehead!

�Then it wasn�t a dream.� Anya said. �Wolfpack Island? If I�m going
there, it�ll be against my will.�

In the morning, Anya walked out of her room. Valgaav walked out at about
the same time, and noticed the burn. �What happened to you?� he asked,
concern in his voice.

�I had a visitor last night. Can you heal this burn?�

Valgaav placed his hand on her forehead and chanted a spell. When he
took off his hand, the burn was gone. �Your forehead was hot,� he said.
�And I don�t think it was all from the burn.�

�Of course it was!�

At that moment, Cardanis and Titania exited their rooms. At least they
weren�t leaving the same room, Anya thought. Cardanis was being a gentleman.

�I had the most horrible dream,� Titania said. �Xellos was summoning me
to Wolfpack Island, wherever that is.�

�Xellos is attaching us through our dreams,� Anya said. �He�s trying to
ruin our morale.�

�We�ll just have be tougher than he is,� Valgaav said. �We should make
for a port and hire a ship. That�ll get us to Seyruun faster. Xellos
will have a harder time reaching us there.�

Cardanis nodded. �I�ll have no trouble hiring a ship. And the nearest
port is a day�s walk away.�

Anya nodded. �At least that would get us past the bounty hunters. Now
let�s get something to eat.�

The four walked down into the common room, only to see nobody was there.

Cardanis frowned grimly.�Something�s not right � the innkeeper said this
was when breakfast would be served. And the other guests are gone too.�

Titania blanched. �You don�t think Xellos�.�

Anya drew her sword and ran downstairs. �Come down here,� she said,
�there�s nobody here � nobody at all.�

�That�s what worries me�, said Valgaav as the three remaining travelers
walked slowly down the stairs.

Suddenly a massive wolf leapt at Anya! She ducked under it and slashed
it with her sword. It landed on the floor, got up slowly, and growled.

�That blow should have killed it.�, Anya said. �It must be a Mazoku wolf!�

At that moment another wolf appeared at the corner of each room. Valgaav
opened his mouth and blasted one with his breath weapon; it reeled and
dissipated. Cardanis reached for his sword, but Titania, grabbed his
arm. �Normal weapons won�t hurt them..." Titania said. �I�ve learned at
least that much about Mazoku.�

�Try to get them all in one place!� cried Anya. �I�ll hit them with a
Dragon Slave!�

The wolves seemed to understand it, and began to form in a triangle
around the four travelers. The travelers, in turn, had formed a
defensive circle in the center, with Anya and Titian standing back to
back with Valgaav and Cardanis to either side.

�Why do I have a feeling they have us right where they want us?� Titania
asked.

A voice came from above. �You don�t know how right you are.� It said
calmly. Anya recognized it instantly.

�Xellos! What�s your game this time?�

Xellos alighted in the middle of the circle. �Just wanted to take my
daughter home.� With that, Xellos set one hand on Any�s shoulder and
another on Titania�s. And instant later, all three had vanished.

�Anya!� cried Valgaav.

�Titania!� cried Cardinas.

"ROAR!" Cried the wolves, who chose that moment to leap.

TO BE CONTINUED�.