Heart of Darkness

Chapter 36

When Jedah vanished, everyone had started talking at once. Gourry was convinced that Jedah had done something to Lina, Naga was of the opinion that it was Xellos who had done whatever-it-was, and Sylphiel thought maybe they’d both gone charging off to rescue Lina from Zelgadis. The only one with a relatively sane opinion was Amelia, and she was absolutely certain that it was entirely too loud for her own good. Longing for the strange silence that she had shared with Xellos, she plugged her ears with her fingers and tried to make herself be heard to hush them all so the could try to decide what to do next.

She was having about as much luck as Naga had casting her original spells… that was to say, none, for every time she raised her voice, so did everyone else in their own efforts to be heard. It was as if a bizarre madness had come over everyone in their concern over one woman, and they only wanted to stand around and shout about it. At least, they shouted until Sylphiel happened to turn around and spot the redhead of concern standing in the entrance, arms crossed as she watched them with a quizzical look on her face.

“Oh look! It’s Lina!” Once Sylphiel spotted her, silence fell over the group.

Lina unfolded her arms and walked into the room, quirking an eyebrow at the group. “Anyone want to tell me what that was all about?” Yes, it was much easier to concern herself with things other than herself.

“We thought that Jedah had done something to you,” Gourry said, eyeing Lina up and down like a big brother checking his little sister out for kissmarks after letting her stay out too long with an older boyfriend that their parents didn’t like.

“He thought,” Amelia interjected. She wasn’t going to let Gourry’s paranoia speak for her own. Naga nodded her agreement with Amelia, though she didn’t offer any more commentary. Sylphiel just waited to see what Lina would say in reply. She wasn’t one to judge, though she had to agree in part with her dear Gourry. Just how far could they trust Jedah?

Lina sighed and nodded slowly, though it was clear that she wasn’t nodding to Gourry. “Didn’t Jedah tell you that I told him I’d wanted some time to myself?” She spotted him across the room, half-cloaked in shadow. Knowing him, he’d probably vanished from sight when things got sticky, but stayed nearby in the shadows so he could keep an eye on them without being at the brunt end of Gourry’s sword.

“I told them, Lina,” Jedah piped up, knowing she’d seen him. “They just wouldn’t believe me.” He stepped out of the shadows, hands in his pockets, once more looking like the boyish little brother of the man who was missing.

Looks could be deceiving, yes, but it was the eyes that usually gave illusion away. Jedah’s eyes showed only the sparkle of a young man on his first great adventure in the world. There was no indication of his duality of nature. It was almost as if he’d never been the Mazoku that she’d seen, Amelia realized with a slight shudder.

Naga put a hand on Amelia’s arm at her sister’s shiver, but any words she might have offered were lost as Gourry spun, glaring at Jedah. “He’s a Mazoku, Lina. We can’t trust him,” The sword was out once more, blade glinting in the odd eldritch light.

There was serious doubt in Naga’s mind that Gourry’s sword could truly do anything to Jedah, but she had to give the blonde points for trying. She more she thought about it, she found that she liked Gourry. He might not have been the sharpest knife in the kit, but you knew where you stood with him.

The slipper bounced off of the back of Gourry’s head, and Amelia did a doubletake. She hadn’t seen Lina throw it. So much for having figured that trick out.

“Of course he’s a Mazoku, you idiot!” Lina snapped. “Now put your sword away and stop acting like the big brother I never needed.” Sometimes Gourry’s overbearing tendencies made Lina want to scream, and other times she thought it was kind of sweet… in a tooth-aching kind of way. Right now, she just wanted to smack him senseless so he’d stop this nonsense and they could back to the problem of what could be done about Zelgadis.

Sylphiel placed her hand on Gourry’s sword arm and spoke quietly. “Maybe it would be a good idea to give him the benefit of a doubt, Gourry dear. He seems concerned enough over Zelgadis, and he did try to keep us safe…”

Gourry didn’t look overly convinced, but before he could reply, Xellos appeared, all sense of panic about him. Violet eyes were open, and he looked at Jedah pointedly, the silence almost crackling between them.

“What?” Jedah spoke aloud, even though Xellos’ comment hadn’t been. His eyes widened and he stared hard at Xellos. “Where?!” Alarm spread over his features, wiping nearly all color from his eyes, and he looked to Lina. “I’m sorry, there’s no time to explain. You have to go back to Saillune, and you have to go back now.”

The world swayed, shifted, and Lina blinked, her stomach wrenching with that familiar feeling of displacement.

Villagers were staring at them.

They had appeared out of thin air in the middle of Saillune. Worse, it was broad daylight, and Lina’s feet were getting wet. She looked down to find that Jedah had planted her, and only her, in the fountain.

The villagers seemed to sense that Lina was a woman on a mission, and let her splash through the fountain without comment. Only one little child pointed, and when Naga gave her a saucy wink, the girl only giggled and buried her face in her mother’s skirts. It was easier than risking Lina noticing. With admirable restraint, for she had noticed, Lina stepped out of the fountain and began to squelch her way to the Palace, Amelia, Naga, Sylphiel, and Gourry in tow.