The morning dawned on the
sleepless chimera. He’d sat on the porch all night long, trying to unravel
the mystery presented to him. So far, he wasn’t having much luck. Xellos’
staff was across his lap, the sphere dull and silent. He’d cast a few spells
on it during the night, but nothing had brought it to fiery life.
He heaved the sigh of one
much put-upon, and leaned against the railing beside him. The door opened,
and from the light footsteps he heard, he decided that it was Amy. She
sat beside him, feet bare under her long green skirt. For a while, there
was only silence, and then Amy spoke.
“What happened last night?
I went after you… but what happened after you found me? I woke up this
morning in my room… and I don’t remember a thing. It’s like a hole in my
mind…”
Zelgadis looked off at the
rising sun. “Lina.”
Amy sighed. “Lina… I’m tired
of this, Zelgadis. I’m tired of her shadow, whoever she is.”
Zelgadis blinked. This was
an unexpected development. He turned to look at her, saw the tears glistening
unshed in her eyes. “Amy…?”
“It’s like she’s some older
sister that I have to outshine! I don’t want to! I just want to be me!
I want to be Ian’s daughter and run the mercantile!” She stood suddenly,
tears starting to fall.
“Amy…” He started, reaching
up to her, but she gathered her skirt and took off down the porch stairs,
running across the field beside the house, leaving him to sit and watch
in bewilderment. Lina had once said the same thing about her sister…
All through the morning,
Zelgadis took it upon himself to do the chores. Ian went off to tend the
store, not even asking where Amy was. Zelgadis decided that Ian probably
thought that she was asleep.
He finished washing the
dishes and turned his attention to the fact that Amy still wasn’t home.
With a sigh, he decided that it was time to head out after her.
He slipped into his room,
picked up his sword and fastened it at his hip as he headed out of the
house. No sense in heading out unprepared. If Amy had half the ‘trouble
magnet’ effect that Lina had… he was sure to have his hands full when he
found her.
Except that he didn’t find her.
The sun was starting to set
and Zelgadis was officially worried. He wasn’t the worrying type normally.
But this had him seriously worried. It was mildly annoying. He wasn’t the
emotional type. Yet… here he was, emotion tingeing his voice as he called
for Amy.
The only place I haven’t
searched is the forest. Those woods… what if she’s gone in there? He
shook the thought out of his head. There had to be somewhere else. The
store. He hadn’t checked the store. It would be a good place for a merchant’s
daughter to go… He turned on his heel and cast levitation around himself
and sped off towards the town and the mercantile.
The store was dark and locked,
but neither of those things particularly got in his way. He’d never bothered
to learn the unlock spell. After Rezo had taught him how to open almost
any lock by hand, it seemed rather… pointless. A slight twist there… a
touch of pressure there… The door opened smoothly and he stepped inside.
A sound off to the side
caught his attention immediately, and he moved quietly over towards the
counter. It was Amy, he knew it by the sound of her breathing. Moving as
if he belonged there, just happened to be walking by, he sat down beside
her. “It’s a nice evening.” He was relieved to see that she was safe, and
it took everything within him to keep his voice as noncommittal as could
be.
She sniffed softly, looking
up to see him sitting there. “What?”
“I said, it’s a nice evening.”
Without looking directly at her, he offered her a handkerchief from his
cloak pocket, which she took after a moment of hesitation.
“Is it? I… I didn’t know,”
she wiped her eyes and blew her nose. Privately, he hoped she wouldn’t
hand the cloth back to him now. Thankfully, she didn’t. He wasted a moment
chastising himself for that.
“It is. Would you like to
come see?” He asked softly, wondering at himself. When did he ever learn
to be like this? He wasn’t… kind and gentle. He was the heartless mysterious
swordsman… wasn’t he? Damn. Amelia and Sylphiel have really worn off
on me…
“You’re only doing this
to make me feel better, aren’t you?” She looked at him, scarlet eyes watered
to the color of rubies.
He blinked at her. “No,”
he said simply. “Perhaps you are right. Maybe you should just be yourself.”
Ruby eyes looked at aquamarine
ones. “But who am I, Zelgadis? I don’t remember enough to be Lina… and
I remember too much to be Amy…”
He sighed. “You have to
decide who you are. I can’t do that for you. It might be better if I left
here, Amy. My presence can only add confusion to your life.” He looked
away and started to rise. Her hand caught his arm and he stopped, looking
back at her.
“Don’t go… I… I’m sorry.
I…” her voice trailed off and she looked away.
Zelgadis ignored the tug
at his heart and tilted his head. “I’ll stay, if you ask.”
She looked at him, something
akin to hope burning quietly in her eyes. “Will you? Stay? Here…?”
He nodded, aware of the
voice of reason in his head starting a miniature rant about him becoming
soft in his old age. Ignoring the voice, he nodded to Amy. “You asked,
I will stay.” He looked around the darkened store. “Perhaps we should go
back. Ian hasn’t seen you all day… and dinner is going to be late.”
Amy leapt to her feet. “Oh
my gosh! Dinner! You’re right, Zelgadis, I have to go home!” Heading for
the door, she called over her shoulder. “I’ll see you at home!”
He stood and shook his head
slowly. How did it always seem that he got himself into these things with
very little resistance?
Dinner was late, but good.
Ian said nothing, only offering Zelgadis a quiet understanding nod. After
he’d helped Amy with the chores, Zelgadis stood out on the porch, contemplating
Xellos’ staff. The sphere was dull, and Zelgadis couldn’t ever recall seeing
the sphere dull. It had always had some kind of light within it before…
and only once or twice had he ever seen it flare brilliantly. The only
thing that he could think of was that it meant the Trickster truly was
gone.
But what had the power to
completely destroy the General-Priest of Zelas Metalium? And what would
Zelas Metallium have to say about that?
Amy’s soft footsteps tiptoed
across the porch, and she looked at the staff. “He was a pain, wasn’t he?”
Zelgadis looked to Amy,
a stone eyebrow raised. “Who, Xellos? Yes, at times.”
She looked at the sphere
quietly, shaking her head. “It all dances so far out on the edge of my
mind… refusing to come any closer.” She looked up to him now, offering
a weak smile. “I don’t know who I am supposed to be.”
Neither of them saw the
black shadow that moved on its own, swirling around the base of the staff
as Zelgadis held it.
“Why don’t you just take
it moment by moment?” Zelgadis offered. “It’s a rough way to go… but in
the end, you might make some sense of it.”
The shadow swirled past
his hand on the staff.
She sighed faintly. “It’s
frightening, not knowing… and yet… I feel like I ought to know…”
She was working herself
up again, and Zelgadis knew it. Setting the staff against the railing of
the porch, he reached out and took her hands. “Maybe you should, maybe
you shouldn’t. But I promised you that I would help.”
The shadow touched the quiet
sphere at the top of the staff.
She smiled shyly at him.
“Thank you…I… I don’t know what I’d do…”
He offered her one of his
rare smiles. “You’d manage, I think.”
“My, my. What have I walked
in on?”
Zelgadis dropped Amy’s hand,
spinning to stand before Amy, a defensive spell ready, teeth bared.
Violet eyes glinted in the
darkness at the pair, lips curled in dark amusement.