Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Slayers Inheritance ❯ The Heart of the Beast! Battle at Wolfpack Island! ( Chapter 11 )

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SLAYERS INHERITANCE

�The Heart of the Beast! Battle at Wolfpack Island!�

by Michael Hopcroft

�I�m Anya Inverse, and nothing pisses me off more than being stuck in a
room with no door against my will be a creepy Mazoku priest! I can�t
believe this creep was ever one of Mother�s friends! Oh, the words I�ll
have with her if I ever get out of this mess!�

The roaring beast glared at Valgaav. Valgaav was actually surprised he
had not pounced already. Just as the monster leaped, Valgaav let loose
with his breath weapon. The monster shattered and dissipated in
mid-leap. It was then that Valgaav realized the teleport had left him
completely disoriented. He had no idea where he was.

Still, it was no time to panic. Valgaav headed down the corridor, trying
to stay alert and focused and not thinking too hard about what Anya
might be going through.

He gave up quickly on seeking our Cardanis. The chimera prince could be
miles away by now. But it was clear he needed directions of some sort.
If he could find Xellos, he might get some answers. All he had to do was
find an intelligent Mazoku and hope it felt fear�.

Anya mentally ran through her list of spells. Dragon Slave? It was
designed to attack beings, not walls, and would raise too much of alarm.
Fireball? Probably ineffective. Then something struck her � maybe if she
could remember a spell that would get rid of the wall with a minimum of
bother� SHE HAD IT!

�DEMONA CRYSTAL!� shouted Anya, and an icy chill spread from her hands
to the wall she was touching, covering and penetrating it with a sheet
of ice. With one good kick, the wall shattered into a million pieces and
Anya stepped through the opening.

Anya drew her sword and began to chant. �Spirits of air and darkness,
spirits of twilight and crimson, I call on you to lend your power to
this blade. In the great name of the Golden Queen of Chaos, I call you
to my aid! GOLDEN BLADE!� At the completion of the spell, Anya�s blade
started to glow a mixture of gold and crimson. For the next three hours,
it would slay any Mazoku on whom she could land a solid blow. She
noticed that as she had cast the spell, a delightful feeling of power
had spread through her body. Had she really called upon the aid of the
Lord of Nightmares? She began to wonder what would happen to her when
the spell ended, and set out to find someone to intimidate. She wanted
answers, she wanted to find Titania, and she wanted to spill Mazoku blood.

Cardanis drew his sword and cast a Lighting spell on it. He knew that on
an island full of Mazoku, a torch was about all the fine Seyruun-crafted
blade would be good for. With Valgaav nowhere to be seen, he realized he
was completely on his own. Since he couldn�t really fight the Mazoku
before running out of energy, he would have to find ways to avoid them.
Muttering a spell to silence his footsteps, Cardanis headed down the
corridor. He knew he was going north, but not knowing the layout of the
complex it didn�t help him at all.

Behind him he heard the sounds of spiders � big spiders. He was hoping
they hunted by sound, but he wasn�t going to count on it. He closed his
eyes for a moment to try and sense for Mazoku, but the whole island
reeked of their presence so much it was impossible to make out
individuals. Quickly finding a cubbyhole in the corridor, he ducked
inside just as two enormous spiders passed him by.

None of this was helping him find Titania, visions of whom filled his
mind. He would need to take a more direct approach. There was a
Shamanist spell that could be used to locate a particular person over
long distances. He wondered if the stench of black magic about the place
would interfere with it, but he decided it was worth a try. He began to
chant the incantation.

He was so wrapped up in the spell that when the club hit his head,
knocking him unconscious, he didn�t even notice.

Half an hour later a large, husky Mazoku carrying a club dragged
Cardanis into a throne room. Beastmaster, with a wine glass in her hand
and a cigarette in a holder handing from her lips, seemed puzzled. �Did
you bring me a corpse?�

�No corpse.� Said the Mazoku. �He still breathes. I don�t understand it
� why didn't he die?�

Beastmaster stepped down for a closer look. �This is no ordinary man �
he�s a chimera. Xellos!�

Xellos teleported to her side. �Yes, Mistress. I am here. What do you
wish of me?�

�Explain THIS!� she said, pointing a long finger at Cardanis. Xellos
examined the inert but still-living body.

�This chimera was traveling with Titania,� he said. �Apparently he is a
member of the Seyruun royal family.�

�Did you bring him here?�

�Certainly not! He got here entirely on his own. If such devotion were
not a human trait it would be almost admirable. If he is here, it is
possible the dragon boy is here too.�

�Find and slay him!� Beastmaster commanded. �And slay this one too.�

�Mistress, much as it pains me to question a direct order, perhaps this
chimera can still be of some use to us. He could be the very means by
which to make Titania more cooperative.�

Beastmaster took a draw on her cigarette. �Intriguing. Go on.�

�Titania seems to care about this man a great deal. Humans will
sacrifice anything for those they care about � even their own humanity.�

�Disgusting trait,� Beastmaster muttered. �So you�re suggesting we offer
her his life in exchange for her becoming a full Mazoku and entering our
service?�

�Exactly, and then when she is purged of her human qualities we kill him
anyway. After we play with him a while. May I suggest we chain him to
that wall? That way we can keep a constant vigil over him until the time
comes.�

�Excellent! This way everyone gets what they want!� And Beastmaster�s
laughter filled the room.

Anya had lost count of the number of Mazoku she had slain. It seemed
that every time she turned a corner another beats was charging at her.
Unfortunately, none of them had told her anything about what she really
wanted to know.

Around the corner in front of her she heard a strange sound. She raised
her sword, rapidly turned around and saw � �Valgaav!�

�Don�t hit me! I�m not that bad, I promise!�

�Valgaav, what the bloody hell are you doing here?�

�Do you think I�d leave you alone in a pit of monsters? I promised your
mother that I would bring you back in one piece, and that�s what I�m
going to do. Look out, there�s one behind you.�

Anya wheeled around and slaughtered the charging beast. �Thanks. But
this is getting us nowhere. We need to run into something intelligent
that will tell us where Xellos is.�

�Why Xellos? Much as I�d like to take a few pieces out of his dirty
Mazoku hide, is that going to help us find Cardanis and Titania?

Anya frowned. �I think Xellos is the key to this whole puzzle. He knows
where Titania is being kept. He knows what happened to Cardanis. And he
knows what his game is. If I can find out what his game is�.�

Valgaav appeared to sniff the air. �You may get your wish, Anya. I think
he�s coming.�

�Prepare yourself. It may be us or him.�

�I would rather it were him.�

In between Anya and Valgaav, Xellos suddenly appeared. �So there you
are.� He said. �Everyone�s been looking all over for you. Breaking out
of your room was not very wise, Anya, but I suppose I should expect
nothing less from the daughter of Lina Inverse.�

�Leave my mother out of this! And tell us where Titania and Cardanis are
or, I swear to L-sama I�ll kill you where you stand.�

Xellos blanched. �You swear by the Lord of Nightmares? You must be
especially brave, given how she collects on her bargains.�

Anya smiled grimly. �I never thought I�d see this � Xellos frightened.
It�s a wonderful thing.�

�Now, there�s no need for threats here. If you kill me you�ll never get
out of here. But have you considered that the game may be already lost?
I am going to achieve my goal very soon. And I will let you watch as
Titania graduates and becomes an adult. Follow me, please.�

�I�ll follow you,� Anya said, �but if you harm anyone � so much as a
hair, this enchanted sword is going straight into your back, and I�ll
follow it up with some really nasty spells.�

After what seemed like a long walk, Xellos emerged into the
Beastmaster�s throne chamber. �You should be honored, Anya Inverse. Not
even your fabled mother got to lay eyes on Beastmaster Xellas Mentallium.�

Beastmaster, who looked like a well-built young woman in a very skimpy
outfit and fishnet stockings, with a wineglass in one hand and a
cigarette holder with a lit cigarette in the other, appeared actually
surprised. �Xellos, I did not instruct you to bring the boy to me alive.�

�It�s more delicious this way,� said Xellos. �Think of this as the
graduation feast for Titania. Their despair on realizing the
thoroughness of their defeat will be a banquet for all of us.� At that
moment Xellos teleported, just in time to get out of the way of a wicked
thrust from Anya�s sword.

�How boring,� said Beastmaster. �We can�t have our audience playing
around with weapons, can we?� With a wave of her hand, Anya�s sword was
ripped out of her hand and flew to the ground at the Beastmaster�s feet.
�Incidentally, I have also sealed off your formidable magic powers,
young lady. And as for your, young dragon, you will find that both your
breath weapons and your transformative abilities will not work here, so
don�t even try.�

Xellos reappeared beside the Beastmaster. �Allow me to call your
attention to the far wall.�, and he pointed his staff to where a
familiar figure was chained spread-eagles to the wall.

�Cardanis!� Anya cried. �What have you done to him?�

�That is a secret. Aside from which, your places await.� Suddenly hands
of invisible force lifted Anya and Valgaav and lifted them to the wall
on either side of Cardanis. Chains appeared from the wall and clasped
around their wrists and ankles.

�XELLOS!� cried Anya. �You son of a bitch!�

Xellos turned to Beastmaster and smiled gleefully. �And now, the final
player in our drama � the guest of honor, if you will.�

Suddenly Titania appeared in the middle of the room. The very first
thing she noticed was her three friends chained to the wall. �Cardanis!
Anya! Valgaav!� She turned to Xellos. �Why? Why have you done this?�

�That�s not important,� said Xellos. �What do mere humans matter to the
likes of you? Besides, I wanted you to meet your grandmother.�

Beastmaster stood from her throne, walked up to Titania, and took her
hand. �I am charmed to meet my granddaughter. You�ve been dreaming all
this time that you were a mortal girl. It�s time we woke you up.�

TO BE CONTINUED�