Chapter 13

The moment of mindless shock left Zelgadis, and he started forwards as the two met swords again with a clash. It wasn’t really himself, he saw only after they turned in combat. She was locked into a battle with the demonic aspect of him, the aspect that had been called forth and used by Rezo. The demonic chimera had called forth the Astral Vine spell, and so had the advantage of an enchanted blade. Consequently, Lina was having a hard time defending. Her blade wasn’t really meant for this kind of combat.

Afraid to break her concentration, and afraid that her blade would break, Zelgadis stood frozen in an uncertainty.

The demonic chimera had the clear advantage, as Lina seemed to be completely unwilling to attack him. Instead, she blocked and parried each of his attacks, keeping him from harming her, but not returning the blows herself.

Zelgadis frowned. What was she doing? He wouldn’t tire… if she didn’t find an advantage herself and press it… the demonic form would have her worn out in no time!

It happened so fast that he didn’t see what had happened, but her blade went flying across the room to land with a sickening scrape of metal against stone. Backed up against the wall, Lina looked quietly at the demonic form of Zelgadis and took a deep breath.

There was no concentration to break. Zelgadis launched himself forward, towards his alter Self and Lina. “No!”

Her focus shifted over the shoulder of her attacker, and onto Zelgadis himself. Her eyes widened slightly, and she bit her lip.

He landed on the demonic chimera in time to pull him off-balance and away from the redhead. “I’m your target, not her!” he snarled, teeth bared and eyes flashing.

The demon growled wordlessly back, recognition flickering in the red eyes, the challenge taken. Astral blade came up to meet Astral blade, and the two forms of the one began a new battle.

Lina grabbed up her blade and started forwards to aid Zelgadis, but a hand suddenly fell onto her shoulder, a calm and familiar voice staying her. “No, Lina Inverse. This he must do by himself.”

She turned to glare at the sightless eyes that ‘watched’ the battle. “You cast this on him,” she said, protesting his presence.

“I did not, Lina Inverse. This that he fights is the aspect of Shabranigdo’s power which lies within him, controlling him,” the shadow of Rezo replied sadly.

“Shabranigdo?” Lina echoed, feeling something akin to terror. “In… Zelgadis?”

“Not a piece of Shabranigdo, but a part of his power, none-the-less. It was not I that cursed him, you will recall.”

Lina sighed. “Yeah, yeah. I remember that discussion.”

They watched the demonic chimera and Zelgadis fight, both nearly perfectly matched. Lina had serious doubts as to who might win this one, but kept them to herself and stood there beside Rezo, waiting.

Zelgadis knew that he had one option, but he was reluctant to use it while Lina was present. Blocking and returning attacks, he felt his own Astral Vine spell weakening, and knew that he had no choice. Either he would cast the spell, or he would lose. Blocking another blow, he took a breath, and began to cast.

“Source of all souls which dwell in eternal and infinite. Everlasting flame of blue, let the power hidden in my soul be called forth from the Infinite…”

Lina cringed, instantly realizing what Zelgadis was doing.

“RA-TILT!”

The blue-white flare swallowed the room.

She opened her eyes on the floor of a tunnel that she did not recognize. Groaning softly, she rolled over and her groan turned into a gasp when she saw Zelgadis on the floor beside her, unconscious.

Oh no… he’d been fighting himself… and he cast the Ra-Tilt… did he…? “Zelgadis?” She whispered, reaching out to touch his shoulder.

He didn’t reply, didn’t move, and Lina blinked, switching her gaze to mage-sight.

There was no aura around him.

She felt a stab of pain, accompanied by a certainty that the Ra-Tilt had done too well a job. It was never designed to be cast directly on the Astral Plain… the implications of such a spell cast at the very root of its power… how in the name of Cephied had she survived it?

She reached out and touched his stony cheek. It was perhaps, the first time she’d ever reached out on her own to touch his skin. Knowing how sensitive he was to his appearance, she had never dared do so before.

There was a chill to his skin, and while it felt like stone… there was a strange sense to the stone… perfectly mobile, perfectly flexible. She rested her hand there, looking at him sadly. Why can’t I do this when he’s right here, with me?

There was a shimmer, and an aura-sense washed over him, scintillating within her mage-sight.

Uncertain, she moved her hand, backing away and switching back to normal sight. She didn’t know who would open those closed eyes, and she knew better than to take any chances.

He lifted a hand, raising it to his forehead, and grunted. He felt like hell. Every inch of him ached, though he couldn’t tell if it was a physical ache or not. Casting that Ra-Tilt had not been one of his brighter ideas, he could tell.

Opening his eyes, he focused first on his arm, then across to the ceiling. The stone above reminded him how he got there in the first place, and he looked over to where he had left Lina.

She wasn’t there.

Frowning, he forced himself to sit and reeled from the sudden rush of disorientation. Bother that, he had to find Lina!

Closing his eyes to keep from seeing the world sway, he rose to his feet, unsteady and off-balance.

Hell with it, that’s my Zelgadis!

A hand caught him as he started to fall, a slender shoulder slipping under his arm. Oh good, he’d found her. Or, rather, he thought muzzily, she’s found me. There was a secondary wave of disorientation, then a healing spell washed through him, mending injuries that he hadn’t known he had. Looking down, he saw her red hair, saw and felt the hand against his chest as she continued to cast the healing spells.

The nausea and disorientation faded away, and he began to feel somewhat more like himself. He brought his hand up to cover hers, and he found his voice again.

“Lina… are you all right?”

She paused between castings, and looked up to him. Crimson eyes filled with worry met his blue ones. “Zel… what happened?”

His breath caught for a moment as he looked at her. She looked small, vulnerable, and a fierce protectiveness rose as he brought his arm around her to hold her close. He hadn’t hurt her in that… she hadn’t been touched by the Ra-Tilt…

His sudden embrace surprised her, and she squeaked at him inadvertently. The sound surprised them both, and he leaned a little to look at her. She blinked at him with wide eyes for a moment, then felt her cheeks begin to take on a tingle of warmth. He gave her his little half-smile, squeezed her hand lightly, then let her go.

He likes me… he likes me… he… cut it out, Lina! You’re not some giddy schoolgirl, and this is not the time for that! She looked at him, the blush still glowing lightly on her cheeks.

“What happened?” She tried again. The last thing she had seen was the beginning of the Ra-Tilt.

He straightened his cloak and looked at her in all seriousness again. “The Ra-Tilt defeated the… demon.”

She tilted her head, looking at him. “Which means what, exactly? Is it… he… dead?” I’ve gotta figure out all these riddles. What Rezo’s told me… that Zelgadis holds the key to the spell… but the spell itself is within Zelgadis. It’s so damned circular… and perfectly Rezo! He wasn’t completely obliterated by Shabranigdo… but he couldn’t counter the Dark Lord directly. So he had to take more subtle ways of countering… Lina thought.

He shook his head, uncertain himself of exactly what had occurred. There had been a moment where everything felt as though it were ending and beginning all over again… but he didn’t want to think about it right now. Not in the City of Stone, at the very least. “I don’t know. Shall we get out of here and continue to investigate the city?”

She looked towards the far end of the tunnel. “Let’s see where this leads. It may lead us to something useful.”

He nodded, turning and walking towards the far door.