Heart of Darkness

Chapter 15

 

            Silence fell. It was a silence that was deeper than that of the lowest ocean floor, deeper than that atop the Great Staff in the Sea of Chaos. It made a simple heartbeat almost unbearably loud, and whispered breath sound like the most raucous of parties. It held them there, caught, turning the moment into a seemingly endless stretch of anti-existence, an indeterminate amount of time in which nothing was everything and everything was nothing at all.

            Once more, Lina felt as if her world had been picked up, though this time it had been shaken fiercely, turned on its ear and then plopped back down with such ringing finality that she might spend the rest of her life trying to put the broken bits back together. Or was it that she had sat down upon the floor with a hard thump as the reality of what Jedah had told her had folded down upon her.

            Jedah.

 

            Not Greywords.

 

            Metallium.

 

            Greater Mazoku.

 

            Son of Juuou.

 

            Son of the Greater Beast.

 

            Son of a…

 

            “You bastard!” Lina growled, emotion ripping her voice raw, her crimson eyes darkening as she glared up at what, for all intents and purposes looked like a very sheepish and rather embarrassed younger version of a human Zelgadis. Never mind that he was far more powerful than she was. He’d lied to her, led her to believe that he was a young and harmless sibling of Zelgadis.

            It pissed her off almost as much as the kidnapping and controlling of Gourry by Hellmaster Phibrizo had. Anger crackled around her, the promise of magic swirling around her as she sat there, the power writhing like a thing alive. Lina wasn’t Mazoku, but she carried enough Chaos magic within her that she could do a damned good impersonation of one when angered to the point where she now found herself.

            Jedah actually found himself taking several steps backwards and lifting his hands in his own defense. “Lina, please! Calm down! I’m sure that the two of us can talk this over… rationally!” He was starting to see why Xellos had a healthy dose of respect for the redhead, to understand why Zelgadis had warned him in no uncertain terms to avoid making Lina angry. She was positively frightening, even to him, and he’d seen his own mother furious.

            “Rational!?!” Lina snarled, getting to her feet and beginning to stalk towards Jedah, her hands coming together to call forth L-Sama only knew what spell she could cast and lob the easiest. For all he knew, it could be the Dragon Slave. Or worse. “You stand there and tell me that you’re the son of Beastmaster, a Greater Mazoku, more powerful than Xellos, that you’ve been lying to me the entire time that I have known you, and you want me to be rational?!?” Her voice rose on the last word, causing Jedah to flinch. As he did, he spotted Xellos in the shadows, violet eyes open and a sick and sadistic smile twisting his lips. The Trickster Priest was enjoying the show, feasting on the petite sorceress’ anger and anguish.

            With a sigh, Jedah caught up his powers, his own skills, and allowed a small glimmer of his abilities to become tangible. “Lina, please, listen to me. I’m not here to hurt you, to harm Zelgadis, or anyone else, for that matter!” Except perhaps Xellos. The Trickster Priest certainly would deserve it.

            Lina paused, sensing the almost overwhelming promise of power held so casually in hand by Jedah, the knowledge abundantly clear: He could destroy her completely, should he desire. He’d always been able to. But he hadn’t. In fact, he’d promised her… hadn’t he?

            She came to an uncertain stop, eyes still glaring at Jedah, but now, they were tinged with doubt. “Then what are you here to do, Jedah, Son of Juuou?” Her voice was still angry, the tone challenging and sharp. She didn’t trust him, didn’t drop her guard one iota, but she’d hear him out. It was the very least that she would do. Literally. Still hidden in the shadows, Xellos blinked in surprise. This was an unexpected development. Lina was listening to Jedah, even after the surprising admission that he himself was attempting to orchestrate into something that paled in comparison to Lina’s simply marvelous display. Once again, the sorceress had taken things into her own hands and done far better than Xellos could have.

            Jedah lowered his hands, sealed off all trace of the powers and abilities that he had called to him. “Honestly, Lina Inverse Greywords? I’m here to help you.” If Xellos shattered this moment, Zelas Metallium would be looking for a replacement General-Priest. It wouldn’t take but a thought to wipe Xellos across the surface of the Sea of Chaos, and Jedah would do it, too.

            Lina was far from convinced. “Why? Why would a Greater Mazoku want to help me?” Her arms folded across her chest, cloak settling closed about her, hiding her hands and her talismans that she wore from view. Jedah could sense them, however, and she knew that he’d know if she powered them up in preparation for an attack.

            “Because, Lina Inverse Greywords, over the years that I have known Zelgadis, I’ve actually come to care for his well-being.” Jedah replied calmly, ignoring the violet eyes rolling in the shadows, using Lina’s full married name for emphasis. “And, given that, because I know how much danger Zelgadis is in and how desperately he needs our help.” She looked even more skeptical, so Jedah tried to make his point one more time, this time in a fashion that would put things into perspective for the sorceress, falling to his knees and lifting his hands to her, granting her the position of superiority.

            Uncertainty played across her face for a moment, but she closed the distance and he took her hands. “Lina, if we don’t do something, Zelgadis will become something beyond anyone’s reckoning; something so uncontrollably powerful that he might as well be Shabranigdo all over again.”