Heart of Darkness

Chapter 17

 

            “No! That’s not possible!” Lina exclaimed. “Xellos prevented that… he said so!” She remembered the confrontation and conversation all too clearly. How he’d told her that he was there to prevent Zelgadis from becoming a Mazoku. She didn’t know why, but it made sense now that it was to prevent an uncontrolled shift in the balance of power.

            “Actually, Lina,” Xellos began as he stepped from the shadow where he’d been waiting, “You managed to do that for me. You were the uniting force within him, but the circumstances now aren’t the same.” The Trickster Priest gave a small little shrug and lifted a hand to Jedah. “Lord Greywords.”

            Finally identified by title and name, Jedah gave the General-Priest of Zelas a mental nudge. You’ve been waiting to say that since Zelgadis disappeared. Satisfied? Without waiting for a reply, he looked to Lina and sighed. “Zelgadis is the unwilling prisoner of Deep Sea Dolphin, and it’s imperative that we work together and free him.”

            Lina Inverse Greywords drew herself up to her full and not-so-formidable height, fixing both Xellos and Jedah with that famous ‘I’m Lina Inverse and you’ll do whatever I want you to do, or you’ll get a Dragon Slave in your face’ stare. “Get out of my way.”

            “You can’t do this alone!” Jedah retorted as Lina began to advance on him. “I’ll help you, Lina. I’ll even make Xellos help.” Xellos looked vaguely ill at the thought, but said nothing. Lina just pushed forcefully past them both.

            "Lina!" Jedah said, reaching out to grab her arm. "Lina, please. I'm just asking you to trust me."

            "Trust you? Why? Why do you care, Jedah? You're a Mazoku. Mazoku don't care. They're... they're monsters..." Lina's voice broke on the final two words, shoulders shaking as the enormity of the situation began to crush her. She forced herself to stay calm, forced her breathing to stay steady. She wanted to crumple to the floor and start to cry. What she did instead was glare at Jedah, as if daring him to simply vanish and leave her alone.

            "Is that what you think, Lina?” Jedah sighed. “Is that what a Mazoku is to you? Does that make me a monster? Does it make Zelgadis one?" He challenged, knowing that it was a harsh blow, knowing it would sting. But he needed her to understand, to see the differences. Yes, most Mazoku were rather monstrous… but there were exceptions. There were always exceptions. And Jedah was one of those few, just as well as Zelgadis and Xellos.

            "Zelgadis is different!" Lina snapped, Jedah’s query having hit with the expected sting. He was different. He wasn’t cruel, he wasn’t evil… he loved her. Mazoku couldn’t love… they fed on fear and pain, lived lives of cruelty and torment. Zelgadis wasn’t like that. He was different. He was. He had to be.

            "Is he?” Jedah countered, looking at Lina with a strange sort of sadness in his light blue eyes. “Do you really think so?” His voice softened, that sadness touching it and making him sound so vulnerable. So… human. “Am I a monster?” He watched Lina as she looked away. “Lina, before you answer that, let me explain a few things.”

            Lina looked to Jedah, skepticism etching a dark red light into her eyes. “I’ll listen, but on one condition.” She folded her arms, as if she was waiting for the protests, waiting for him to deny her that condition and add one more reason to the quickly growing list of reasons why she shouldn’t trust him.

            Jedah’s right eyebrow quirked in a mannerism so similar to Zelgadis that it made Lina both angry and heartsick. “Anything, Lina.” Virtually anything, that is… he amended to himself. He couldn’t just simply summon Zelgadis from his captor – that was a law that even he couldn’t break. One Mazoku couldn’t directly interfere with the actions of another. It was older than he was, and that was saying something, even though he hadn’t owned up to precisely how old he was. Then again, she’d never asked.

            “No secrets.” At the stricken expression on Xellos’ face (it actually made him open his eyes in shock,) Lina set her jaw. “I mean it. If you keep secrets, I can’t trust you. We put all of our cards on the table, or we don’t play.” She meant it. If they were going to trick her this way and that, lead her on a merry chase of twisting paths and dead-end directions, well, she wasn’t going to have any of it. She’d manage well enough on her own, thank you very much.

            Xellos was having serious thoughts about this game. He was the one who made up the rules, who held the cards. He didn’t play well by other peoples’ rules. Perhaps it was high time for him to bow out and go see a few friends. Maybe he’d even visit Filia

            “No secrets, Lina.” Jedah replied calmly, even taking it one step further. “And I’ll make sure that Xellos doesn’t try anything either. What we can give, we will, and freely.”

            Xellos spun to look to him, his teeth gritted and lips curled in a snarl. “I’ll do no such thing!” It was merely a formality. Jedah had the power to force him to play along, to make his existence nothing short of miserable, and Xellos knew it. It all tied back to that tiny little bit of human left within him. Damn Jedah!

            Jedah only smiled that little smile of his, that lazy one that said that he knew that he had the power, knew that all it would take was a thought, and nodded. “Yes, Xellos. I’m rather afraid you will. You came back to watch and now you’re an unwilling player in this game.” I said ‘can’ for a reason, so pay attention! Jedah snapped. Sometimes Xellos could be so obtuse.

            Lina frowned, but had to accept what she saw. “So start talking, Jedah.”