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Author:
Xellas M |
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Exposed Warnings: Dark, Slash, Lemon, Torture Rating: NC-17 Disclaimer: I do not own Slayers, Xellos, Zelgadis, Lina or Amelia. I do own the red-shirted guards and Bad Guys. Then again, in this fic it’s kinda hard to tell who the Bad Guys are… AN: Please let the above disclaimer and warnings serve for the entire fic. I’ve done some extensive editing on the first three parts and the last two are entirely new. Exposed Prologue by Xellas M. Xellos blinked into existence a cautious distance from his target. Zelgadis sat alone on the edge of a cliff, resting and enjoying the view. As always, the sight of the shaman caused a sharp pang deep within the Mazoku’s chest. He hated that feeling; nothing but trouble had ever come from it. ‘I’m so much better off alone. He will almost certainly reject me no matter what I do. I don’t dare tell him how I feel, but it’s going to hurt like hell every minute until I do – and afterwards it will hurt even more. Oh, well. It’s no good feeling sorry for myself or trying to escape it. Best to let events take their course. I’ll be able to pick up the pieces afterward, I always have.’ He forced his face to assume it’s normal genki smile and phased out to report to his Master. * *
* * * Xellas stared down at her Priest fondly and with a flicker of almost maternal concern. Really, she needed to give Xellos a break. Even for one as loyal as Xellos, taking out two Mazoku Lords and an Overlord of the Netherworld within a couple short years could easily cause burnout that would render him careless. If he ever grew careless, even Xellos could be killed. She
proudly surveyed her work. None of the
other Mazoku Lords had a servant like hers!
Losing Xellos would be a severe blow to her power base. But the telltale signs of burnout were
there, unmistakable. She had created
Xellos as her Priest and General, a single powerful servant in place of two
weaker ones. All Mazoku created by the
five Lords were created with a mechanism to ensure control. Gaav had instilled in Valgaav an obsessive
love/worship of his master; Phibrizzo had created his underlings with a
deep-rooted fear. Xellas had chosen to
instill the traits and emotions of the wolf pack into Xellos, though he was
smart enough to keep them well hidden.
He would go to any lengths to please his Master. He could also occasionally form genuine
friendships and would even more rarely take a mate. While it had seemed a strange choice initially, time had born her
out. Xellos had enough independence of
thought to keep him alive while remaining completely loyal. His occasional minor emotional need was a
small price to pay for such stability.
His weakness was their secret. She
suddenly realized he was still talking, chattering about nothing
important. The innocent smile he
usually wore seemed a little tighter than usual, his voice a little too
casual. Frowning, she interrupted
him. “Xellos, you look tired. Perhaps it’s time you took a little
vacation. There’s a nice fresh batch of
prisoners in the dungeon if you like.
With care, they could even last a couple of years!” A
muscle in Xellos’ cheek twitched irritably.
Berating himself, no doubt, for letting his emotional state be so
readily apparent. He dropped his eyes
to the floor. “Arigato,
Juuo-sama. But it’s not that…” his
voice trailed off uncertainly, obviously very uncomfortable with the situation. Xellas
lit a fresh cigarette, trying not to be irritated. She resisted the urge to simply snatch the information from
Xellos’ mind; employees tended to work a lot better if they weren’t subjected
to unwarranted stress. “Then what is it
you’d like? You have certainly earned a
reward.” Xellos
scratched his head and looked sheepish.
“I would like to spend more time with Lina and her friends. Especially the chimera.” The last three words came out
hurriedly. So
it was a mate. Xellas smiled. “You go ahead and have fun with your
friends. Don’t stay away too long
without calling and please feel free to invite the chimera over for supper any
day you like.” Xellos
blushed. “Th- thank you, Xellas-sama.” Xellas
exhaled a large cloud of smoke.
Clearly, her Priest was ready to take off the minute he was
allowed. “You are dismissed.” She chuckled deeply in her throat as Xellos
teleported out instantly, then returned a moment later to grab his staff, shrug
sheepishly, then teleport off again.
“This should be fun to watch…” she murmured softly. * *
* * * Zelgadis
sat in a cold iron cage, resisting the impulse to test its magical guards for
the hundredth time. It had been two
days and three nights since he’d been locked away and thirst was beginning to
become an issue. He signed and wondered
how long it would take his cursed body to finally die. Months, perhaps. But his capacity for suffering was human and long before he
actually died the pain of hunger and thirst would drive him insane. Worrying about it now wouldn’t help. Still, brooding was what the chimera did
best and agonizing about his future was far better than replaying the events
that had led him here over and over in his mind. It
seemed impossible that a group of simple villagers could be responsible for his
capture. Impossible, but it had
happened. Only one week had passed
since Zelgadis had wandered into a small mountain village searching for his
cure. He had noticed that the locals
had seemed more than usually terrified of his presence, but as always the
chimera tried not to show how badly this hurt him. He simply pulled his white mask over his face and used
intimidation to prevent any awkward questions. When
he asked about any local ancient texts or temples, the townspeople had directed
him to their Priest-Chieftain, a scholar named Dolan. A group of the strongest young men had escorted him to the
Priest’s house, armed with shovels and farm equipment. The sensation of being herded was
infuriating. Still, with any luck he’d
be able to gather any useful information quickly and be on his way. He should have known better. The
villagers waited at a respectful distance as Zelgadis approached and knocked on
their leader’s door. A servant girl had
nervously bid him enter and wait for her master in a delightful study filled
floor to ceiling with books preaching the wisdom of Cepheid. Fifteen minutes later, the master of the
house appeared. Dolan was a short,
stout, kindly-looking man. He had large
hands, stained and calloused from writing and an open, genial smile. Zelgadis instinctively disliked him. He could not give a good reason why, only
that the priest’s smile did not seem to make it to his flat black eyes. The man’s words were friendly enough; he
placed himself at the shaman’s service and insisted on having a meal sent up
before discussing the reason for Zelgadis’ visit. The
chimera attempted to refuse, but the priest wouldn’t hear of it. The same young servant who had greeted him
soon re-entered the room. In her hands
she carried a large tray loaded with warm sandwiches and coffee. Internally grumbling at the waste of time,
Zelgadis sipped his coffee… …and
woke up, hours later, in a very different place and with a throbbing
headache. He looked around
carefully. He was in some kind of underground lab, filled with strange devices
and texts very different from those on display in the study. Zelgadis was the only occupant of one of the
three cells carved into the walls. The
bars between him and the rest of the room were of thick iron, and the lock on
the iron door was very sturdy. Through
the bars he could see his sword, cloak and bag sitting on a table on the
opposite side of the room. The shaman
smirked, doubting that any of it would be enough to keep him caged. He tested the bars, but they did not bend
even with all of his strength applied.
Fine, then, he would simply have to blast his way out. “Flare
arrow!” Zelgadis cast the spell aiming for lock on the door. Instead of blowing the iron gate from it’s
hinges, the shaman was forced to quickly drop to the floor as his arrow
ricocheted from the door, to the wall behind him, to the ceiling then straight
for him. “Damn!” he grumbled. He still wasn’t too concerned, for his captor would have to
return at some point and it was doubtful that Dolan possessed similar
magic-repellent qualities. He
didn’t have to wait long. The little
man appeared shortly. His smile was
even broader and friendlier than it had been upstairs, but his eyes were just
as dead. “You’re awake! I’m so glad you’re doing well. It was very difficult to judge the amount of
dragon fire root it would take to knock you out. It would have been a shame if there had been an overdose.” “Flare
arrow!” cried Zelgadis again, this time aiming between the bars and at the bald
priest. Once again he had to duck as
the spell bounced harmlessly off the space between the bars to ricochet around
his cell. Dolan’s
smile vanished. “You won’t find escape
that easy, my friend. You can cast no
spells and you cannot teleport. But
don’t wory, I am sure it won’t be long before you are let out. As soon as we come to an arrangement, you
will be free to go. In the meantime,
you will be as comfortable as our limited accommodations will allow.” Teleport? Why did this man think him capable of an
ability shared only by Mazoku and Ryuzoku?
“What sort of arrangement?” asked Zelgadis, more to keep the bastard
talking than because he had any intention of agreeing with anything the priest
might have to say. “When
the villagers told me there was a demon loose in the village, I have to admit I
was picturing something a
little…larger.” Dolan said, looking Zelgadis up and down critically. “Still, I guess one can’t complain. Your timely arrival has saved me a lot of
trouble.” Zelgadis
internally cursed his stone body and the grandfather who was responsible for
it. “What. Do. You. Want.”
“Why,
I want you to serve me, of course! I need
a demon to aid my research.” the priest
chuckled. “Look,
you’ve got this all wrong. I’m not a
demon, I’m a human. I was placed in
this cursed body and came here seeking a cure.
I’d rather go directly to Hell than work for someone like you.” Zelgadis spat out. The situation was ridiculous. His
captor just smiled patiently. “I’m
sure. What is it you want to work for
me? Victims? You might as well tell me; you’re not going anywhere until you
agree.” “This
conversation has gone on long enough,” replied Zelgadis. “I’m not working for you and that’s
final.” He walked away from the bars
and sat as far back in his cell as he could, staring at the wall. “We’ll
see about that.” was all that Dolan said as he turned to his work. Zelgadis watched, but was unable to
determine the nature of the priest’s studies.
Not that it mattered. The shaman
couldn’t have helped even if he wanted to, which he didn’t. Eventually, the scholar left. From
there things had gotten much worse.
Huddled in his cage, Zelgadis managed to swallow back the sobs that
wanted to come but was unable to prevent tears from streaking his grimy
cheeks. Nothing he had said had
convinced Dolan that he was human. The
evil but stupid priest’s attempts at bribery had gotten worse and worse and his
attempt at feeding Zelgadis by tormenting others had been unbearable. At the last, Dolan had finally given up and
left the chimera to die. Though
undamaged in body, the shaman’s spirit was deeply hurt. Maybe it was better this way. Sooner or later his miserable, freakish life
would finally end. How fitting that he
die alone, locked in a cage in the middle of nowhere. Finally, he curled up in as small a shape as he could and fell
asleep out of pure exhaustion. * * * * * The
moon had already disappeared for the night when a figure materialized outside
the cage. Xellos
looked at Zelgadis, dressed only in torn and dirty leggings and shivering in
his sleep. Cold rage flickered across
the Mazoku’s normally cheerful countenance.
A light tap of his staff against the lock was all it took to disable the
magical wards. Silently, he reached in
and took the chimera into his arms being very, very careful not to wake
him. Zelgadis whimpered in his sleep
and curled into the warm embrace. Xellos
would find out what had been done to his love and then they would pay
dearly. But first, Zelgadis needed his
help. He teleported with the chimera
still cradled in his arms to a small cabin he kept in the center of a
supposedly haunted forest. Gently, he
laid Zelgadis on the bed before attempting to wipe away the worst of the dirt
and mess from his face. * *
* * * Unexpected
warmth and the sensation of his face being gently wiped clean woke Zelgadis out
of a very deep sleep. At first he did
not want to open his eyes, afraid the kind touch was nothing more than a
dream. When he risked looking around,
the first thing he saw was Xellos.
Xellos, who was watching him with more concern than anyone had shown him
since he was a very small child. He
said nothing, but closed his eyes again, ashamed at the tears he couldn’t seem
to keep from falling. It figured, only
a Mazoku could show a disgusting creature like him kindness. He didn’t deserve to be with humans. Hell, even Xellos was beautiful. The real Mazoku would not have been
recognized and captured. It was reason
enough to hate the trickster even if Xellos hadn’t been the one to witness this
shame. * *
* * * Xellos
watched helplessly as Zelgadis withdrew deeply into himself. The trickster wiped the chimera’s tears
away, but they did not seem to stop.
The Mazoku desperately needed to know what had happened to his love, but
knew the shaman was in no shape to answer too many questions. The demon could extract that information
from the cause of Zelgadis’ misery, but first he needed to know who was
responsible. Hoping to draw the chimera
out a little, he asked gently “Zelgadis, where are your things?” The
question brought on even more tears and it was a few minutes before Zelgadis
managed to reply. Whispering softly, he
said “The priest in the village has them.” That
was enough. Xellos asked no more
questions. He stayed at the chimera’s
side until Zelgadis finally fell into a deep, restful sleep. The demon quickly gathered food for the
chimera’s breakfast, set out a charmed bath that would stay warm until needed,
and left a note explaining that he had quick errand to run but would be back
before dusk the next day. There
was only one village in the rocky wasteland anywhere near the cage Zelgadis had
been locked in. It was a very simple
matter for Xellos to locate it, which he did just as the sun was rising over
the mountains to the west. He wandered
into town and explained to a girl selling flowers that he was a wandering
priest who was very interested in having a chat with their religious
leader. Completely unsuspecting, the
girl gave him directions and the priest’s name. She then attempted to sell the trickster a flower, but was
chagrined to find that her entire stock had already begun to wilt. Xellos walked away, humming a happy tune
that would have sent anyone who knew his nature screaming and running as far
away as they could. It
seemed that Dolan and his staff were not early risers. Xellos let himself into the house and spent
a few minutes poking around. He quickly
discovered the hidden staircase that led to the man’s workshop. Snorting with disgust, Xellos couldn’t help
but wonder how such an inept idiot had managed to capture a prize like
Zelgadis. It was clearly time to go
straight to the source. Xellos
blinked into the priest’s bedroom.
Grabbing the sleeping man, he teleported them both to the little man’s
own workshop before he could even cry out.
Quickly he strapped his victim to one of the man’s own torture
tables. The human began begging for
mercy, the cries tasting better than fine wine to the hungry demon. Smiling happily, Xellos reached down and
broke Dolan’s littlest finger in three separate places, just to make sure the
scholar understood the seriousness of his situation. “What
did you do to the chimera?” he asked, reaching for his victim’s ring
finger. “I really hope you don’t
answer. It’s been such a long time
since I’ve had a really good meal.” The
priest took one look at the Mazoku’s slitted purple eyes and began praying
fervently to Gods he had long ago turned his back on. Xellos smiled and with a sharp *Crack!* the next finger hung
uselessly. By the time Xellos had
reached for another digit, the man couldn’t talk fast enough. The
story was damning. Zelgadis’ capture
had been sheer luck. Apparently the
priest still thought he had captured a reluctant demon and, not being powerful
enough to coerce him, had attempted to purchase aid instead. He had first offered his serving girl for
the supposed demon’s plaything. When
the chimera refused and tried to explain that he wasn’t a demon, Dolan had
dismissed the claim as a lame trick to gain escape. Accordingly, the priest upped his offer: he promised Zelgadis Dolan’s own favorite
sex toy, a five year old girl he had taken in to “the service of the Gods” when
her parents had died. When the shaman
had still refused, the priest had beaten the girl in front of his prisoner’s
eyes, hoping to seduce the chimera with her pain and fear. When even that did not sway the “demon”,
Dolan had finally given up. He could
not release Zelgadis for fear of retribution, so the priest had once again
drugged the chimera and locked him away.
This time the chimera was taken to the wilderness where no one would
ever find him. Although
there was no logical reason to leave the man alive for even a minute now that
he had the information he needed, Xellos couldn’t bring himself to kill Dolan
too quickly. The Mazoku spent the next
hour very pleasantly. The demon did not
allow his victim to lose consciousness for even a moment; torture was an art in
which Xellos took considerable pride. Just
as he was about to finish, he looked up from his messy work and met the
too-adult gaze of a small girl. He
paused only for a moment, then snapped the neck of the twitching, bloody thing
on the table. “Don’t
be afraid.” Xellos said. The blood that had splattered onto his face,
hands and clothes began to disappear, leaving him clean. “You
killed him.” She said simply. Xellos
nodded. “He won’t be able to hurt you
or anyone else ever again. It’s all
over.” “Are
you an angel?” the girl asked. “I’ve been praying and praying for an angel
to come and help me.” “Whatever
you want to believe I am.” Xellos
shrugged. “Just remember that sometimes
even angels want things that can hurt other people. It’s never good to rely on anyone until you know what they are
after.” “So,
what do you want?” the little girl persisted.
Xellos
smiled. “Sore wa himitsu desu.” he
said, then vanished. * *
* * * It
was almost noon by the time Xellos returned to his small house with Zelgadis’
things. A genuinely happy smile lit the
demon’s fine features when he saw his chimera naked in the bathtub. “Konichiwa,
Zelgadis-san!” the priest sang out. “I
have your clothes and sword when you have finished.” Zelgadis
started and tried to cover his body with his arms as best he could, face
burning with shame. “Don’t look at me!”
Then Xellos’ words slowly sank in.
“Where have you been?” the chimera whispered. “Sightseeing. I wanted to know what a bunch of ignorant,
in-bred mountain yokels looked for in a leader. Unfortunately, the man met with an accident not too long after I
arrived so we didn’t get a chance to debate our respective theologies.” “He’s
dead?” Xellos
nodded. “You
killed him?” Xellos
nodded again. His chest constricted,
suddenly afraid that he’d said the wrong thing and had lost the chimera
forever. Zelgadis actually smiled a
little, and the poor Mazoku was able to relax.
The
demon walked over to offer the chimera a large, fluffy bath towel. To his surprise, Zelgadis reacted by drawing
himself up even tighter, the brief smile disappearing as quickly as it had
appeared. “Please
just go,” the chimera pleaded, “I don’t want y- I don’t want anyone to see me.” Knowing
there was nothing he could do, Xellos went outside to wait for Zelgadis to get
dressed. The Mazoku frowned as he
wondered how on earth was he ever going to convince the chimera that this
hadn’t been his fault, that his stone body was far from repulsive. As long as Zelgadis remained in his current
state, he would never be able to be with anyone at all, much less make a
suitable partner for Xellos. The truth
was that there was little the trickster priest could do. He knew that his power did not mean anything
when it came to another’s heart. All he
could do was try his best. He
re-entered the building just as Zelgadis was strapping on his double-bladed
sword. The chimera had already pulled
his mask over his face, a bad sign. Xellos
chose not to comment, instead starting to brew some tea on the small stove in
the corner. He set two mugs on a small
table and motioned for Zelgadis to join him. Stiffly,
the chimera walked over and sat down.
Wrapping his hands around the steaming mug, Zelgadis seemed to speak
more to the beverage than to Xellos. “I
haven’t yet thanked you for helping me out back there.” the shaman said softly. “There
isn’t any need for you to thank me.” Xellos replied uncomfortably. “I
know I will probably regret asking, but why?
Why did you help?” A
hundred responses passed through Xellos’ mind.
‘Because for the first time in hundreds of years, I am in love and can’t
seem to help myself.’ He thought
desperately. Finally, he settled for
“Because I care.” “How
can you say that!” snapped Zelgadis, the anger in his voice a welcome change
from the uncertainty it had held a few moments previously. “All you’ve ever done is follow us around
and use us! You have never even noticed
me as anything other than one of Lina’s followers or as a nice, easy meal!” “I’ve
always noticed you.” Xellos said
simply, trying not to let the chimera’s words hurt him and failing. * *
* * * Zelgadis
could not believe what he was hearing.
This was simply not the Xellos he thought he knew, the aloof trickster
who had openly compared them to pieces on a chessboard. Xellos, notice a freak like him? “What do you want?” Zelgadis asked,
unknowingly echoing the young girl he had been unable to save. “Your
friendship, or more if you want it.
Your company. Your
acceptance. You are beautiful, even
though you don’t believe it. I know how
lonely you are, Zelgadis. Can’t you
accept that I feel that way too?” Zelgadis’
tea, untouched, grew cold in his hands as he tried to assimilate what was
happening. Xellos was correct in one
thing; the shaman was desperately lonely.
But the Mazoku had just called the chimera beautiful, which in this
cursed body he clearly was not.
Beautiful people weren’t herded with pitchforks and rakes to be captured
by pedophile priests. They didn’t end
up locked away in cages. Was
Xellos really lonely too? Did it even
matter? The one thought the chimera
could not face was the thought of traveling alone again. He had to believe in the Mazoku’s feelings
because it was the only way left for him to stay whole. Zelgadis
looked up and was surprised to find Xellos watching him with open fear in his
normally inscrutable gaze. That, more
than anything else could have, confirmed the shaman’s decision. Belief is a simple (although not always
easy) matter of choice and Zelgadis’ choice was made. “Yes.” Zelgadis finally said in answer to Xellos’
question. “Yes, I can accept that.” A
wide, open smile graced the Mazoku’s face as he bounced over and placed his
arms around Zelgadis. He held the
chimera tightly. The shaman felt Xellos
tremble as his stone arms hesitantly reached around the demon to return the
embrace. * *
* * * Xellas
turned off her scrying mirror and lit another cigarette. At this rate, Xellos
would be back to normal in no time.
Which was good because it looked like the damn Ryuzoku were up to
something… * *
* * * ~End
Prologue
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