Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Cryptic Knives ❯ A Wolf At The Door ( Chapter 7 )

A Wolf at the Door

I keep the wolf from the door

But he calls me up

Calls me on the phone

Tells me all the ways

That he's gonna mess me up.

*****

Delphi seemed frozen on the floor as her pendant seemed to be glowing steadily. Dilandau picked himself off of the floor and looked towards the heap on the floor across the room that was Delphi. Infuriated by being humiliated in front of his elite group of slayers he casually walked over to her, as not to make a scene.

When Dilandau bent down to roll her over he felt a sudden shock moved through him as soon as he made contact with her. He retracted his hand in astonishment and tried to touch her again. When he felt another shock he stood up angrily and kicked her over. Her arms fell lazily on the floor and her head shifted slightly, hair still covering her face.

Dilandau cocked his head a little to get a better look at her then said, `would someone pick her up?' He turned around to look at all of his slayers. They had all seen what had happened to Dilandau when he had touched her so no one decided to move. Chesta, however, looked around at his pathetic excuse for friends and walked dauntingly over to where Delphi was claming the floor with her limp body. He bent down and balanced himself on his toes. He reached out his hand and put one finger on her shoulder; nothing happened. He shrugged and picked her up, turning around afterwards to see a few socked expressions from the other slayers.

`Get her out of my face.' Dilandau ordered when Chesta finally made eye contact with him. Chesta nodded,

`Sir.' And then left hurriedly to put her back in her cell.

****

Chesta didn't put her in her cell; instead he made his way to Folken's room where, when he got there, he knocked on the door. The door slid open without moments of hesitate and Folken stared at Chesta, who was still holding Delphi.

`What's going on?' Folken asked in his calm voice once again.

`Nothing sir, I just have a question I'd like to ask you.' Chesta said.

`And what would that be?'

`Why no one can touch her but me.'

Folken raised an eyebrow to this remark of Chesta's. `Bring her to the sorcerers' room, I'll be right down with you.'

`Sir.' Chesta nodded and turned to go to the sorcerers' room. He didn't like it there and he'd never been in there, but Dilandau has. They've all heard him scream so loud that they want scream themselves. He didn't want to go and he dreaded that he had to.

The door opened and he poked his head in; no one was there. Chesta walked straight through, looking about for one of the sorcerers to jump out at him; but none came. Chesta walked towards on of the lab tables and set her down on it. He heard the door open again and whipped around to see who had come in. Folken was sauntering over towards the two of them. Without a word, he turned on a huge bright light above Delphi, but she didn't stir. Folken moved around the table to the other side and then began searching for something, all the while Chesta was looking around the whole room for anything suspicious that might want to jump out at him.

`What precisely is wrong again?'

`Well,' he started dryly, `Dilandau couldn't touch her.'

`And you could?' Folken seemed fatigued and didn't want to be hearing this sort of poppycock at the moment.

`Yes sir.'

`Okay.' Folken walked towards Delphi and touched the side of her check and recoiled in pain. He didn't say anything but Chesta read his quizzical expression that what just happened was quite strange. `I'll presume it's that pendant around her neck.' He said and for the first time noticing that it had changed color. `What was going on?'

`Lord Dilandau wanted to train her and so he got us to fight her. She gave up, I think, and Lord Dilandau did something. All I saw was a huge spark and both went flying.'

`This might help.' Said Folken going to a table with a syringe on it and grabbed it. He walked past Chesta who watched him idly as he grabbed a bottle of green liquid and a needle head. As he stuck the needlepoint into the bottle, Chesta was beginning to have negative thoughts on this subject. He watched as the green liquid was suctioned into the syringe and swirled around. Folken tapped the side of it and pressed the liquid out until there was no air left in it. Folken stretched out his metallic arm with the needle in it towards Chesta, who looked stupidly at him.

`You have to give this to her.' He said.

`Why me?' he asked with sheer uncertainty.

`Because I can't touch her.' Folken said simply as Chesta turned to Delphi, needle in hand.

`Where?'

`Her inner elbow.' Folken walked to where Chesta was and pointed to where it was. `You have to be precise.'

`What's in here?' Chesta asked just before he was going to inject the green liquid into her arm.

`It's something that the sorcerer's have been working on. Nothing of your concern.'

Chesta brought the needle down to the vein on her arm and stuck the needle in. Even though she was unconscious, he was subconsciously thinking that he might hurt her. He squished the liquid into her arm and pulled the needle out, feeling a little under the weather. He placed the need into Folken's outstretched hand and leaned against a shelf when he heard something being knocked over.

`What was that?' he whispered and looked around but his thoughts were interrupted by Delphi suddenly going into convulsion. He spun around and pressed his hands onto her shoulders to stop her but was grabbed painfully by Folken's metallic arm, which pulled him away. Chesta stumbled backwards and fell onto the floor.

`Leave her be.' Folken snarled just as Delphi had slowed down her convulsing. Chesta was sitting on the floor, propping himself on his hands behind him. From underneath the table he saw four paws, slightly larger than a wolf's paw. He did a double take at the four paws and crawled farther away from the table. A huge head appeared in view and stared right at him. It looked like a cross between a dog and a wolf; midnight black in color and its fur looked course. It had a slightly elongated and wide snout with a big black nose planted on the end of it. It was making a shallow growling noise that caused Folken to look in the direction that Chesta was staring at.

`Don't move.' Folken ordered, but the animal focused all of its attention on Chesta sitting on the floor and quickly jumped at him with full force landing on his chest making him topple over. His hands went up and pushed the animal's chin towards the ceiling, as to avoid a bite. It craned its neck around so that its head wasn't blocked by Chesta's hand anymore.

It took another bite at him but Chesta punched his nose all the while trying to knock it off him. Its claws were starting to dig through the leather armor covering his chest. Before the animal could regain its balance from the struggle Chesta was putting up and attack once more it cried out in pain and staggered off of Chesta. Folken stabbed the animal another two times before its movement desisted.

`Fool! Fool. What are you thinking?' a horse voice came from behind Folken.

`You killed the experiment.' Another rough voice spoke. Three sorcerers appeared wearing huge black cloaks similar to Folken's.

`You should learn to contain those things.' Chesta cried, standing up. `It was going to kill me.' Chesta lambasted.

`Quite young one.' The first one said. `It is none of your business that we are running experiments.'

`I had to kill it.' Folken said. `It was attacking one of the slayers, they're more important than your experiments.' His voice was tranquil.

`That may be true………but what makes the slayers, slayers?' the first one inquired sardonically.

`Us. Without our intellect you boys would be weak as a wench.' The second one added contemptuously.

`Tell us? Do you ever wake up hating who you are?' The first asked Chesta, bending over and peering at him wickedly. Chesta shook his head no. `Precisely.'

`And what's this?' a third voice hissed.

`Another one? It seems that she has already had an injection.' The second observed.

`She has a strong body. It seemed to have no effect with the first dosage.' The third one hissed once again.

`What do mean? You put THAT in her?' Chesta yelled unabashedly at the sorcerers. Folken nodded absentmindedly and walked over to Delphi, rested his hand on her forehead. She had a slight fever but she wasn't giving off any sort of electrical current anymore.

`It seems you are right, her body is stronger than normal.' Folken commented on the thirds examination. `She'll be fine Chesta, take her to a bed and let her rest.'

`Not until you tell me what attacked me.' Chesta said defiantly.

`I will not tolerate backtalk.' Folken told him, turning his back on him. Even though he could not see, Chesta nodded and said simply,

`Sir.'

`It isn't an affair you would want to meddle in.' the superficial voice in his head said callously.

*****

Delphi awoke in her bed. She knew she had a strange dream but she couldn't remember what it was about. Then she was brought back to reality about what happened before she lost all contact with the world. Dilandau was about to kill her and then there was a flash. A sharp pain struck through her head. She brought her hands up to her temples and squeezed her eyes shut, but just as soon as the pain came it left.

She sat up in her bed and felt strangely refreshed. Shrugging, she stood up out of her bed and was taken aback when her muscles, which her aching when she awoke were perfectly fine now. She yawned, stretching her arms when then the door opened. She let her arms collapse beside her and then she stared into the cold impenetrable eyes of Dilandau.

`I need to use the washroom' she said defiantly. A grin flickered across his face.

`You better be in the training room in ten minutes or the floors will be the next thing you polish.' He turned his back on her and then left. Delphi was surprised that he was actually letting her roam to find the bathroom unaccompanied. She walked out of the door, which slid shut behind her.

She racked her brain to remember where Chesta had taken her earlier. It took her, what she figured five minuets to find the washroom. When she was finished she ran all the way back to her cell and then down the hall to the training room. She walked through the door and there were about forty slayers, who stood attentive, lined up in four rows. Dilandau had his back to her but then he turned his head to look at her and said,

`Are you ready to go into battle?'

*****

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Sweet Roses