Chapter 15

The pillow was soft and thick, the blankets warm and full… but somehow Zelgadis just couldn’t sleep. Memories of the battle with the demonic chimera aspect haunted him when he closed his eyes, and he fought to keep his pulse at normal speeds.

Finally, he gave up and got out of the bed, dressing and heading down and out to walk and think. It always helped to do something while he was thinking.

Once outside, he looked around, then headed for a small woodsy area near the hotel. He thought with wry amusement, that maybe he’d climb a tree and find comfort from the memory within the lofty branches. But once he got into the cove of trees, he saw that there was a small clearing in the center, and Lina was standing within it, her blade drawn.

Alarmed, he moved quickly, only to break into the clearing and see that her eyes were closed as she stepped through movements of a practice routine with her sword. Back and forth, side to side, the steps were as familiar to him as is they had been his own motions. They were the beginnings of advanced swordplay, steps not learned in any formal classes, but taught by private instructors. As he watched, he noted the finely controlled fierceness, each step and move as if precisely calculated.

He hadn’t known the measure of her skill with a sword… she had seemed more suited to solve a situation with a fireball than a blade… but it gratified him to know that she was as skilled as she was showing.

He watched for a few minutes more, then in a spur of the moment’s thought, decided to risk it and offer her the chance to spar with him. Stepping silently forward, he drew his own blade and met hers lightly to catch her attention with a slight smile. If she took the offer, it might be a good way for them both to work out their thoughts.

Her eyes snapped open at the light sound and impact of blades. Her eyes narrowed as she looked to him for a moment, a soft blush creeping into her cheeks, but then she nodded wordlessly and gave a small salute with the blade as she backed off of her center to allow him to enter the ‘sword-circle.’

He did so, bringing up his blade in a silent salute, then took the ready position, blade low, clearly offering her the offense.

She wasted little time in taking it, and soon they were both pressing each other for an advantage. Zelgadis had the advantage of both speed and endurance, but Lina was doing well at holding her own against him. It was only a spar for the sake of sparring… not a true battle, so they both knew when to pull their attacks and advantages.

For almost an hour, the only sounds in the clearing were the meeting of blades, the soft footfalls and grunts that typically accompanied sword fighting. Finally, Zelgadis broke the silence, but not the sword-work. “I didn’t know you practiced alone. I would have sparred with you before.”

She blushed, bringing up her sword to block his. “I… I needed to do something to work off some extra energy, that’s all.” She stepped back, aiming a mid-range swing.

He parried, feinted high, and then caught her low. Stepping back, he saluted again, sheathing his blade. “Lina… when I cast the Ra-Tilt… how did you escape it?”

Lina blinked, lowering her sword and trying to remember. A moment passed, then another, and she shook her head. “I don’t know. All I remember was standing there with Rezo, watching. You cast the Ra-Tilt, and I opened my eyes in the tunnel below the church.”

“Rezo? Rezo was with you?” Zelgadis growled, though she knew it wasn’t at her that he was growling.

“It wasn’t really Rezo, Zel… it was more like the memory of his soul,” Lina said, setting her blade back in its sheath at her hip. “I’ve been trying to puzzle it out, and it’s not making much sense to me. Shabranigdo was the one who cursed you, and Rezo did what he could to give you the chance to make it better… but I don’t see how all the pieces fit together.”

He looked at her. “What do you mean?”

Lina shook her head. “I don’t know. All I have is this collection of information, and none of it fits together. Somehow, the memories of you trying to… kill yourself, and the demonic chimera in you… and Shabranigdo’s power… they all fit into a solution. Only I’m not sure what it is yet. And somewhere in all of this, I’m there. But I don’t know how, and I don’t know why. Somehow I’m supposed to help you, and I haven’t the vaguest clue how to begin!” She could feel her emotions warring, the frustration sparking hot tears into her eyes.

He watched her, listening, considering. “Lina,” The tears caught the light in her eyes, and he sighed. Was it all a part of Rezo’s spell, all because she’d been caught up in something she never should have been involved in? He turned halfway, unsure what to say. “You shouldn’t have to worry about me,” he said gruffly.

She caught his arm, her voice small and alone in the clearing. “Zel… I’m only trying to help you… I don’t want to hurt you. There’s so much I know, and so little I understand… but I don’t know what I’m doing here other than screwing up. I’m sorry.”

He paused, two distinct courses of action before him. Zelgadis wasn’t cruel by nature, and he wasn’t a person of uncertainty, at least, not before this whole mess started. The flashbacks had been inconvenient enough, but with Lina being a part of them… interacting with them… it left him uncertain and disturbed by the very uncertainty. What do I do…? I feel somehow like we’re both dancing around something bigger than we are… each afraid to say something about it… A moment passed with him still half-turned to look into her eyes, then one path clarified itself to him, and he took it without further mental indecision.

He brought his arm up out of her grasp and looked to her again for a long moment. Then, very deliberately, he reached out and put his hand on her shoulder, offering a smile.

“I can’t think of anyone I’d like better at my side.”

Lina looked at him again, feeling the pressure of his hand on her shoulder. He isn’t pushing away…maybe there’s a chance… She stepped forwards slightly and reached up to put her hand on his cheek, just as she had done in the tunnel.

His eyes widened, crystal gaze sharpening. Lips parted, he whispered her name in the form of a question.

She smiled softly, apologetically, letting her hand fall away.

He caught her hand in his free one, the hand on her shoulder slipping to her back as he pulled her into a close hug. Surprised by his action, she stiffened for a moment before she settled into the embrace, bringing her free arm around him and resting the one he was holding against him. He smelled softly of clean linen and something that she couldn’t identify as anything other than him, a somewhat dusty smell of earth and magic.

As she relaxed into his embrace, he felt his tension fade, and he lowered his head to hers. To him, she smelled of spice and fire-kissed greenwood, the fresh and inspiring scent that he suddenly realized he had come to miss when she wasn’t nearby.

They stood like that for a long time in the little clearing, the wind rippling through the trees and the stars shining through the rustling leaves.