Dark Clouds Over Downtown Dilse

Dark Clouds Over Downtown Dilse

Flashes tore through the night woods, drenching the trees with light and throwing long, tangled shadows out across the littered forest floor.

I dove. Something flared up right where I’d been standing a second earlier, confirming that diving had been a good idea. I rolled to my knees and turned just in time to see a clutch of trees in that burst of light disappear into thin air.

… Yikes. I grimaced. It looked like that thing was after me.

And what was I doing there, you may ask? Why was I running through a forest in the middle of the night from some badass, mysterious enemy who wanted nothing more than to vaporize me, maybe even wipe me off the face of the planet?

Again?

Before you can say anything, I didn’t ask for it this time. Seriously. I was staying in a small inn in a small village, minding my own business (and trying to catch some shut-eye for a change), and then this new Lina-hater- of-the-day came out of nowhere and attacked me. Out of nowhere! Seriously! And I didn’t t rob anyone or insult anyone or kick the crap out of anyone!

… Again.

So you can understand why I was a little shocked by the whole thing. But Lina Inverse stays cool in even the most undeserved and random of fights, so I (gracefully) fell out of bed, evaded the attack, and bolted out of the village as fast as possible. I knew that if I could lure that prick out to the neighboring forest, I could use the best magic I had without destroying a hell of a lot of public property.

Still, as I stared at that white, misty silhouette ducking around trees in the woods, I couldn’t help but think that my spectacular plan might need some adjusting. This wasn’t some bandit or common lowlife I was dealing with; there was a good chance that a lot of my spells, even my really awesome spells, would do me little to no good.

I was up against a Mazoku. Since those guys feed off darkness, spells that affect the living bounce right off them.

I needed a new plan. I quickly chanted and released a spell before that silhouette could get uncomfortably close.

“Elmekia Lance!” I shouted.

Just before my arrow of white light could impale him, the silhouette melted into the ground. The white shadow snaked across the ground as my spell passed harmlessly over what looked like his head.

Dammit. I gritted my teeth and shifted my feet. It looked like it was going to be a long night.

Just then, someone in the nearby darkness released some very promising Power Words.

“Ra Tilt!”

FWOOOM!

The misty demon was instantly enveloped in a pillar of blue light. The light blazed for a second, throwing my shadow out far behind me, then vanished as quickly as it had come. The demon was nowhere to be found.

I let out a relieved sigh. Dusting the dirt off my knees, I called out to the friendly caster. “Thanks, Amelia.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” she called back.

I looked up. The nearby thicket rustled as Amelia pushed her way out of it, her dark hair barely reflecting the moonlight. But what surprised me more than her slightly-less-dramatic- than-usual entrance was the look of concern on her face.

“Something else is here,” she murmured, her eyes darting around the area.

“Something else?” I followed suit and started scanning the surrounding darkness, my mind quickly going alert. If Amelia said she felt something, you could bet something was there. Amelia had been traveling with me for a while, and if I’d learned one thing about her—other than the fact that she’s a nut about justice and she likes to scream about it as much as possible—it was that her priestess nature could let her sense things that I had no way of knowing.

Case in point: I didn’t feel the presence of anyone at that moment, and the only thing I heard was the chirping of insects. But if Amelia felt something, then I wasn’t about to…

My train of thought died the second the insects went silent.

“Hmm,” came a familiar voice from behind Amelia and me. “I’d meant to hide my presence. You certainly are attentive.”

I whipped around. A smiling old man, his white hair neatly combed back, emerged from the darkness. He looked simultaneously non-threatening and forgettable, but Amelia and I knew better. My blood ran cold.

“Raltaak,” I muttered, beads of sweats forming on my forehead.

Despite the granddaddy look, the guy was a Mazoku—and a pretty high-ranking one, if my hunch was right. Amelia and I had gotten a taste of his power when he’d summoned a horde of low-ranking demons from the Astral Plane to posses a bunch of animals and create a small army of lesser demons. I wasn’t sure how much power the guy really had, but I didn’t want to find out.

Not that fleeing’s gonna work, I reminded myself. I didn’t want to fight Raltaak head-on, but I doubted he would just let me duck out and go back to bed.

“I think I get it now,” I said carefully. “That white thing was just bait to get me out here, huh?”

“Not at all,” Raltaak answered. He smiled awkwardly and shook his head. “I was expecting him to defeat you. Of course, I was ready to step in and finish the job if he wasn’t sufficient, but the young lady over there noticed me.” He glanced at Amelia momentarily. ‘And so quickly and easily—I’m surprised.”

‘Attacking an inn out of the blue isn’t your style,” I retorted. “Not from what I’ve seen, anyway.”

“I won’t harm the uninvolved. But, well…” Raltaak shrugged. “I have special circumstances.”

Circumstances. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Thanks for clearing that up.

“Either way,” Raltaak continued, making a deep, pained smile. “I’ll eliminate you, no matter the—” CHOOM!

Every hair on my body stood on end. Raltaak, his mouth still open to say his piece, suddenly slammed his jaw shut.

Twisted bloodlust, a kind far beyond the capacity of a human being, filled the area like a thick, invisible fog. The feeling enveloped me so tightly that I choked.

But the real cincher was that it wasn’t coming from Raltaak. “What?!” Amelia yelped. She whipped around in circles, obviously trying to find the source.

That was when Raltaak, the insanely powerful bad guy Mazoku, cried out in fear. I could see him shaking as he retreated into the darkness like a terrified puppy.

The bloodlust suddenly vanished, as if following the guy.

Uh… whoa.

Amelia and I just stood there for a second, completely dumbfounded. I noticed the thin sheen of sweat on her—at least I wasn’t the only one ready to nearly wet my pants at the whole thing.

“Wh-what was that just now?” Amelia whispered in a broken voice.

I swallowed and shook my head. “Beats me,” I murmured, but I had my suspicions as to who had caused that bloodlust.

Xelloss. If Raltaak had high-tailed it because of bloodlust alone, it had to have been Xelloss.

I glanced at Amelia. I hadn’t told her (or anyone) that the mysterious priest who tended to tag along on adventures and always insisted on a single room was a servant of Greater Beast Zelas Metallium. Since Metallium was one of Ruby Eye’s retainers, that made Xelloss almost stupidly powerful. It had become our little secret.

For whatever reason, unlike Raltaak and his goons, Xelloss was “protecting” me. Not out of the goodness of his heart, I’m sure, but it still meant a quick way out of tight spots like that evening. I didn’t know what Xelloss’ expectations were, but I still had to play along—no matter how disconcerting.

Amelia sighed and wiped her forehead. “Whatever the case,” she murmured. “It looks like we made it through this one.”

“Looks like it.” I turned toward the village, my mantle fluttering out behind me. “Wanna go back to the inn?”

It was only then that I noticed the distant cries of Gourry and Zelgadiss. From the sound of it, they were running into the woods to find out where we’d disappeared.

Some help they were, I thought with mild distaste. I cleared my throat and shook out my cape. But Lina Inverse needs no aid.

* * *

“So?” Zelgadiss asked the next morning. His eyes peered at me, the only part of his face visible from behind his usual white scarf.

“So what?” I asked, keeping up my pace along the high­way. I like to be efficient—walking and talking saves time.

Zelgadiss’ stare went darker. “So, what happened to Xelloss?” he clarified.

I very nearly lost that traveling efficiency when my body tried to screech to a halt. But I’m more composed than that, so my shock was reduced to the brief hesitation of a single step.

Ha! I thought. Take that, feelings!

“Oh, you know Xelloss,” I said with a dismissive wave of my hand. “He appears, he disappears—really, who can keep track of anyone these days?”

Zelgadiss was still staring at me, so I averted my eyes from his gaze. Okay, so maybe I had a guess why we hadn’t seen Xelloss since dinner the night before. Maybe I had the faint inkling that going after Raltaak was why he hadn’t been in his room that morning and why he’d seemingly left our party without so much as a parting smile.

But I couldn’t say all that. Everyone knew Raltaak was a Mazoku, so they’d figure out that Xelloss was a Mazoku. And I was trying to keep that secret, dammit!

Luckily for me, Xelloss was a fickle guy. When I declared that morning that we could leave without him because he’d show up eventually, everyone believed me.

Well… almost everybody. Amelia was fine with it, Gourry was distracted by something shiny, but Zelgadiss, unsurprisingly, didn’t buy a word.

He took another long, stony (excuse the pun) look at me. “Are you hiding something?” he asked lowly.

“Hiding what?” I replied with completely believable innocence.

Zel glowered for a minute but eventually gave up. He turned his eyes back to the road and murmured something about “not liking it.”

Stupid Zelgadiss and his stupid healthy skepticism.

Zel’s suspicions only confirmed what I already suspected— that I couldn’t hide Xelloss’ demonic roots for much longer. Gourry may be an idiot and Amelia may be easily distracted—but as a whole, my party could be pretty good at picking up hints.

I wondered what Zel would do when he found out. I frowned at the thought; Zel had never gotten along with Xelloss, so the revelation could get messy. I doubted they’d fight—Zel’s not dumb enough to take on someone as powerful as Xelloss—but I also figured that Zel might storm off and never talk to us again.

It wasn’t like he was traveling with me for his health, anyway—he just wanted to become a human again, after a certain someone turned him into a chimera made of golem and blow demon. Since typical magic couldn’t fix him, his last hope was straight out of myth and legend, and that’s where I tend to tread. Any bonding we may’ve done during a particularly famous incident didn’t keep him by my side more than his desire to get what he needed. He’d be gone if the situation got too rocky. (Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.)

That left me with one option to keep my team from imploding: find out the truth. Why were Raltaak and his friends trying to kill me? Why was Xelloss trying to save me? I couldn’t make any moves until I knew everyone’s motives.

Then I’d have to do something big. I needed an ace in the hole, something menacing and significant to use as insurance. Whatever Mazoku politics were afoot, I needed something to defend me when the truth came out.

And I know exactly where to start looking. I glanced up from my boots. The highway stretched out in front of me, as promising as a finger pointed in the direction of loot.

To Galia, the Sleeping City!

* * *

Galia was packed, even in the afternoon. People milled around the booths that crowded the busy streets; the overlapping noises of chatting and clomping boots were only broken up by the occasional screaming kid. The city was both big and booming—something to be expected of the capitol of Dilse.

Less expected were the soldiers. They didn’t exactly blend into the crowd that bustled around them.

I turned to my party and flashed them a determined look. Amelia nodded and responded with a determined fist clench.

I’d been pretty clever about my intentions, by the way. I’d said I was there to find out what Mazoku were after me and why, since Galia was known for its demonic legends. And all that extra secret information I had? Still secret, thank you very much.

We’d arrived just before noon to grab an inn and a quick bite. Now that we were settled, it was time to nab some info.

“Where do we start?” Amelia asked as her eyes ran down busy Main Street. “If we want to know what the demons are up to, I doubt we’ll find rumors about what they’re planning in the middle of a city.”

“You may be right, Amelia.” I mulled over that one for a second. “Hm… okay, then how about this? We’ll start off simple—get a hold of any rumors you can about any demons in general.”

Zel looked dubious. “You can’t get any more specific?” he asked.

“Just hear me out, all right?” I emphasized my evolving argument by jabbing a finger in the air. “The word from guards in the Kataart Mountain Range is that the Mazoku are looking for something. Since there used to be a manuscript here, there may be something left over from that. That means we’re going through tales at the Sorcerers’ Guild.

“Not that we’ll figure out the Mazoku plan in one go,” I added, “but we might get a lead, or even some insurance for the next time those demons show their ugly mugs.” I shrugged. “I know it’s a long shot, but we’re out of options. We can’t just wait for them to show up and try to kill me again, can we?”

Particularly since Xelloss isn’t here, I didn’t add.

Which brings me to my actual plan. Before we’d lost him, Xelloss had agreed to travel with us—but his real goal still seemed to be protecting me and taking me with him to the Claire Bible. And yes, I mean the mystic tomes of legend full of otherworldly sorcery techniques. Maybe the general populace thought they were myths, but I don’t have much in common with the general populace.

I didn’t know why Xelloss wanted to bring me to the Claire Bible, but I also knew that I couldn’t ask him directly where the thing was. If he just waltzed to the end of the planet and pointed out a tome most people didn’t think existed, Zelgadiss and the others would be whining things like “ How’d he do that?!” and “What is he?!” until my brain turned to pudding.

That was why I was using Galia as a cover. If I sent everyone off to gather information and Xelloss happened to show up later with mysterious info of his own, everyone could assume he got it from Galia. No questions, no whining, no mess.

Even better, I had my own business in Galia. The stuff I mentioned to Zel about looking for insurance was true—I wanted my trump card for when the Mazoku plans got out. I’d found a lead to a “forbidden spell” in Galia once upon a time, a tale related to the Lord of Nightmares. And based on Xelloss’ behavior, I figured that there really was a trump card useable against him in the region.

It was worth a shot, anyway.

I quickly scanned my memory before I split off from the group. What else could I remember about Galia? When a certain gorgeous country girl and the snotty, perplexing female she was traveling with for no good reason entered Galia years before, they’d heard some interesting things at the Royal Palace. Hadn’t they?

“Amelia,” I said. “Do you know the royals here? I was hoping you could pick their brains.”

Amelia thought on that one for a second. Since Amelia’s of royal blood from the Holy Kingdom of Saillune, I like to use her connections now and then. Too bad that doesn’t always come through because her family situation is weird as hell.

“Well,” she offered at last, “I think Father knows someone here, but I doubt anyone will recognize me. Galia’s pretty far from home.”

I folded my arms. So much for that.

“Then can you ask around at the temple?” I asked. “Tell them you’re researching demon legends from country to country.”

She nodded. “Got it.”

“Zel.” I turned to him. “I want you to get information from around the city. Stop in as many places as you can.”

He shrugged. “It’s not like I have any other options,” he muttered.

“I’ll go poke around at the Sorcerers’ Guild myself. That leaves…” I trailed off as my eyes moved to Gourry. As usual, he was plowing ahead in silence, probably not listening to a word I said.

Gourry cuts a pretty impressive figure: tall, built, and reasonably attractive. Not even my old sword instructor could’ve won against Gourry in a sword fight, considering Gourry had become an unstoppable swordsmanship beast as of late. It was just his brain that was the problem. Or rather, his lack thereof.

I knew that asking Gourry to do reconnaissance was a waste of time, considering the guy could barely touch his left and right feet with his left and right hands. Sending him off on his own was akin to sending him off a cliff. “Gourry,” I said. “Go with Zel.”

He glanced back (and down) at me. “Okay.”

I gestured to the white shroud over Zel’s face. “Since Zel isn’t taking that off inside the city, it’ll put people on their guard. We need somebody less threatening.”

Zelgadiss nodded knowingly.

“And I can’t send Gourry alone because he’s an idiot,” I added.

Gourry nodded knowingly.

I resisted the urge to smack the guy’s empty head.

“Work as a team,” I told them. “Zel’s got the sharp tongue, but Gourry’s got the friendly face. Zel can do the talking, and Gourry can just… turn to the side and flap his lips, I guess, so it looks like Zel’s words are coming out of his mouth.” I stopped at the end of my statement, a little stunned by my own genius. That was one of the best plans I’d come up with yet!

Gourry stared at me, confused. “Then I’m gonna be a dummy?” he asked.

In more ways than one.

“Ventriloquism,” Amelia said thoughtfully “I never thought of that. Although the whole thing would look pretty bizarre if anyone noticed Zel’s lips moving, too.”

“Leave the details to the boys.” I waved a hand dismissively. “We’ll meet back at the inn for dinner, okay?” I started off in my own direction down the street, but Gourry’s voice stopped me.

“Lina.” He frowned. “Are you sure about this?”

I sighed. Another complaint? Half of my elaborate plans were specifically made to avoid annoying questions!

“What?” I asked thinly.

“Well… it feels like every time I look lately, more demons are after you.” He scratched the back of his neck. “Should you be really going around by yourself?”

Amelia, Zel, and I all stared at Gourry in shock. He looked uncomfortable under our gaze and shuffled his feet.

“Mister Gourry!” Amelia cried. “You just formulated a reasonable opinion and voiced a concern!”

“And it wasn’t about food or why your shoes are on the wrong feet, either.” I whistled. “It’s been a while since you’ve participated. Is your brain finally scraping itself together from a swamp of sludge into a hearty ball of muck?”

“It would be nice if you did that more often,” Zel added.

They were supposed to be compliments, kinda, but they didn’t come out right. Gourry looked like he wasn’t sure if he was in trouble or not.

I quickly came up with a reason to simultaneously ease his tiny mind and get him off my back. “I’ll be fine,” I assured him. “Up until now, the demons have only attacked at night. They may be trying to avoid dragging citizens into this, although… hm.” I paused. “They did attack me at the inn, but that only ended up luring me away. That still mostly fits the ‘no innocents involved’ theory.

“Whatever the case, I’m pretty sure they want to take me out when I’m alone. I doubt they’ll attack in a city full of people.”

“Oh.” Gourry still looked worried. “Um… I guess?” “Relax, Gourry.” I flashed him a confident smile. “If I was paranoid about this, I couldn’t even go to the bathroom alone. And who wants that, really?”

As Gourry seemed to mull that over, I secretly ground my teeth. I did not want him coming with me to the Sorcerers’ Guild. He’d done that once before and gotten me kicked out because of his whining and arguing. All I’d done was smack him with a book when he’d fallen asleep in the library—it’s not my fault those Guilds carry five- hundred page tomes with gold-reinforced hard covers. I wasn’t going through that embarrassment again.

“Anyway,” I called, taking off briskly down the street so it wouldn’t be easy to stop me. “Follow the plan, everybody. See you at dinner.”

I peeked behind me a second later. The other members of my party had started heading off, but they didn’t look happy about it.

* * *

I was stepping around a curve in the road, my mind elsewhere, when a useful bit of info suddenly hit me.

Literally.

“Ack!” A small boy ran into me at full speed, nearly knocking me off my feet. I deftly took a few steps to regain my balance as the boy swung an arm in desperate circles to do the same.

“Hey,” I snapped as I untangled my mantle. “What’s your hurry, pipsqueak?”

The boy mumbled a rushed apology. He looked eleven or twelve; had wavy, glossy black hair; and looked kinda like a girl. He shot off ahead of me, but I rushed forward and grabbed him by the back of the shirt before he could get far.

The boy looked up fearfully. “Wh-what do you want?!” he demanded.

I gave a sarcastic chuckle. “My purse,” I answered.

“The one you just stole. Unless you’d rather I called a soldier?” I gave him an evil smile, all teeth.

The boy went pale. He hurriedly pulled my purse of gold coins out of a pocket.

“Here!” he cried as he shoved it into my hands. “Just… just take it and let me go! I don’t even care if you beat me up—just don’t hand me over to those psychos!”

I raised an eyebrow. “Psychos?” I repeated. That wasn’t a word I normally associated with city guards, no matter how annoying they could be.

“Yeah,” the boy confirmed, his body visibly shaking now. “The guards around here have all been really weird lately!”

Interesting. I could tell the little pickpocket was my ticket to Informationville. And since he was nervous, I could take advantage.

“I’ll tell you what,” I said at last, making sure to keep my grip on his shirt. “I’ll let this little incident slide if you come with me. I want to hear more about these guards.”

He looked up with big eyes. “Come with you where?” he asked.

* * *

I brought the girly little boy to a restaurant. It wasn’t until his orange juice had arrived and he’d sniveled into it for a while that he started with the good stuff.

“The soldiers here are crazy,” he whined. “And so’s the king.”

“And?” I didn’t tell him to man up because I was afraid he’d burst into tears. “Can you be any more specific?”

He rubbed his eyes with the back of a hand. “The king’s been hiring a whole bunch of troops and traveling sorcerers lately,” he explained.

My eyes shot open. “What?!” I cried.

My voice was so loud that the boy looked up at me in terror.

I grimaced and glanced around, but it looked like none of the few other customers in there cared about our conversation.

I cleared my throat and said in a harsh whisper, “You mean the king’s preparing for war?!”

The boy squirmed in his seat and swallowed hard. “I dunno,” he mumbled. “It’s been a few years since the king first started ordering more troops, but now I think there’re more sorcerers than warriors. And people say they’re teaching black magic to the regular troops.”

“Black magic?!” I hissed, just barely remembering to keep my voice down. “You’d better be kidding!”

The boy shrunk back in his chair as his eyes brimmed with tears. When he started to sniffle, I threw myself back into my own chair and angrily crossed my arms. The kid needed at least another minute to freak out before he’d talk to me again.

My mind raced. I mean, yeah, sure, I understood teaching some offensive magic to soldiers. It would make them better at their job, right? But why black magic? Who in their right mind thought that was a good idea?!

Let’s say I’m a sorcerer drill sergeant or something. If all the foot soldiers I’m training have no prior knowledge of sorcery, I’m going to teach them a simple fire spell— something like Flare Arrow. It’s popular and really common, but that’s because it’s extremely practical in combat. It’s one the easiest offensive spells to teach; it’s plenty good against human opponents; and you can use to it set fire to, say, enemy headquarters.

I don’t think I’d teach black magic by design or accident. Black magic may have more offensive power than an elemental Flare Arrow spell and do damage to demons and non-corporal undead like ghosts, but it’s hard to teach and usually has no practical side effects (like setting things on fire). And if you aren’t doing the proper body motions necessary to control the spell while casting it, all hell breaks loose.

Black magic’s too complex to teach to bottom-of-the- barrel sorcerers, let alone non-sorcerers. You’d think the term “black magic” would evoke fear in people—or at least respect. But apparently there were dingbats out there who thought it was a cool blasty power to put into the hands of soldier flunkies. Ugh, I thought. People are idiots.

The boy had finally gotten over his sniffing and was looking into his juice.

“Are you sure about the black magic?” I asked him. “Who’d you hear this from?”

The boy took a tentative sip. “I’ve never seen it myself or anything,” he mumbled, “but that’s what the rumors say. They say the king’s gotten weird since General Rashatt arrived. They say they’re using dragons and elves and stuff now.”

“Dragons and elves?” I repeated.

The boy shrugged. “There’s a big elf village west of the city, and to the north there’s Dragon’s Peak in the Kataart Mountains. So they come from there, I guess.”

I was starting to understand why the boy used terms like weird and psycho; the whole situation was completely bizarre. Even if a kingdom was preparing to wage war, dragons and elves wouldn’t help humans no matter how much they—

My thoughts stopped abruptly. “No way!” I shouted as I jumped to my feet.

The boy hadn’t yet flashed me his warning look before I remembered I was supposed to be quiet. A quick check around the room reminded me, once more, that nobody in the place gave a crap about me.

“What’s the matter?” the boy asked.

“Nothing,” I said through gritted teeth, trying to sound as calm as possible despite the cold sweat running down my back. If my worst-case-scenario hunch was right…

It sounded like the country was picking a fight with the demons in the Kataart Mountains.

“They’re picking a fight with the Kataart Mountains?!” Amelia, stealthily seated at a nearby table, suddenly jumped out of her chair in an overload of Love and Justice.

That was when every single customer in the restaurant—and the waitress, the proprietor, and some guy who stuck his head out of the kitchen—all stared at us like we were circus freaks. A small chorus of indignant mumbling started up.

I whipped around to her. “Amelia!” I whisper-shouted. “What are you doing here?! And keep it down!”

Amelia didn’t seem bothered by angry customers in the slightest. “We don’t have time for social niceties!” she announced loudly as she marched to my table. “The foul hands of demons may be about to fall on this city!”

“The key word is may, “ I hissed. “This is all guesswork based on rumor, okay? So save your heroics and screaming for when we actually know what’s going on!”

Amelia hesitated, a thoughtful frown tugging at her lips. “Well… you may be right,” she said with obvious skepticism. She let out a breath and plopped down in a free chair.

The boy took one look at her, then stared at me incredulously. “Is she with you?” he asked in a rude tone.

“Yes,” I said through my teeth. “And you’re not. Scram.”

The boy seemed relieved to finally be free of me. He raced out of the restaurant, but I kept my hand in my pocket to touch my money purse until he vanished.

* * *

As planned, Amelia and I met up with the boys that night. We assembled around a dinner table to discuss our information over grub.

Unfortunately, mentioning my theory about the country attacking demons set Amelia off again. We lost several minutes and a few pieces of dishware before we could calm her down enough for us to discuss everything like sane people.

“I think it’s true that the king’s assembling troops and sorcerers,” Zelgadiss said as he brushed away some stray food that had landed on his shoulder during Amelia’s freak-out.

“Did you pick that up when asking around?” I asked.

He nodded. “It’s a pretty significant number of troops, apparently. But other than that, are you sure about all that talk of black magic and elves and dragons? It was only a kid telling you this.”

I sighed. “Who knows if it’s true? But using the term black magic seems a little specific for some kid spinning lies to mess with me.”

Amelia clenched her fist. “If it’s a dangerous issue that an adult would avoid talking about, then only hearing it from a child makes perfect sense!” she declared with completely meaningless zeal. She pointed at me dramatically. “Lina! Do you know where that child went? We should speak to him again!”

“Well… he was just some passing street kid,” I replied. “I’m pretty sure he didn’t even say his name.”

I avoided mentioning that he’d introduced himself by grabbing my purse. If I said that, Amelia would start a rant about how he deserved some Justice right in the kisser.

“So we really have no idea if anything he said is true,” Zel said flatly.

“Then we should find out for certain!” Amelia speared a fried shrimp ball with her fork for emphasis. “At the very least we have to discover that there’s no threat before we can relax!”

In a way, I did agree with her. The potential for disaster was huge.

“Although a subjugation of demons in itself could be a good thing,” she continued, “and although such an action would require commendable bravery, it’s too reckless a decision. Especially if it’s conducted by a general of dubious origin!”

“Who could be out of his melon,” I added.

Gourry dug his fork into a potato. “Is it really that crazy of a plan if he has dragons and elves helping?” he asked.

“Yes,” I answered flatly.

“Why?” He asked so vaguely that it almost sounded like he was arguing with himself.

I leaned back in my chair. “Elves and dragons are definitely more powerful on average than humans, but demons are in their own league. Legend says that when Ruby Eye descended into the Kataart Mountains during the Demon War a millennium ago, a single demon defeated several hundred dragons there.” I spun my spoon in my fingers. “Even accounting for the exaggeration of myth, demons are way more badass than dragons.

“If a bunch of humans bring elves and dragons to their demon fight, at best they’ll kick up more dirt. It’s still a stupid idea.”

“Huh.” Gourry tilted his head a little. “Then… why would the king do something so dumb?”

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out, Gourry.”

“It’s possible, Zel said evenly, “that the king wants to avenge his father.”

I pondered that a second. It was a possibility.

The country’s previous king—Dilus II, Dilus Luon Galia, also known as the Resolute King—had raised an army to subjugate the demons of the Kataart Mountains twenty years earlier. At the end, he personally led five thousand crack troops with a core force of sorcerers across Dragon’s Peak; they headed north into the mountains, only to vanish from history. All that remained of the team were rumors… and a general fear of the power of Kataart.

The current king—Dilus III, Dilus Kuolto Galia— probably knew that better than anyone, but maybe his twenty-year-old anger had finally hit the boiling point? Anger can make you nuts, I thought, remembering some of the things I’ve done while pissed. Unless somebody had just put the idea in his head and was egging him on.

Amelia’s cry broke off my thoughts. “We have to look into this!” she screeched, adding nothing new to our discussion. “Maybe… yes! This General Rashatt in particular is highly suspicious! If he slipped into the country and began scheming and taking advantage of people, we can never forgive him!”

“We don’t know if he’s guilty of anything yet,” I pointed out.

She didn’t stop to breathe. “But we have to act quickly if he is behind this! We’ll uncover the truth with our own hands!”

I was starting to guess why Amelia was acting even more justice-crazed than usual. A while back, Saillune had its Royal Palace infiltrated by a demon, which resulted in a pretty serious fanning of the family feud’s flames. A stranger suddenly appearing at the palace, an atmosphere of national unrest… Dilse was probably looking an awful lot like Saillune right now.

Amelia stared at me, her eyes blazing. “You’ll all help out, won’t you?!”

I shrunk back in my chair a little. The gist of the situation was clear, but the details were getting more and more tangled by the minute.

We need a better plan, I wanted to say, but in her state, I doubted she’d hear me. This sounds like a giant pain in the ass was another thought, but I knew that one wouldn’t get me very far.

“Fine,” I muttered at last.

Amelia made some sort of victorious snort and whipped her head to Zelgadiss.

Zel shrugged. “There’s no reason for me to refuse.”

“If Mister Zelgadiss agrees,” Amelia said triumphantly, “that only leaves Mister Gourry. And since he doesn’t really contemplate, a nod is more than enough.”

Gourry nodded, then slurped his soup.

I refrained from commenting, This is why people don’t respect you, Gourry.

“All right!” Amelia slammed a fist on the table. “Now we can do this!”

I snatched a piece of bread. “We should probably confirm those rumors first, then.”

She slammed the table again, this time knocking over Zel’s tea. “You’re too soft, Lina!” she roared. “The blood in my veins tells me there’s a conspiracy afoot! We don’t have time to confirm rumors—we have to go straight to finding direct evidence of the conspiracy!”

“Um…” I raised an eyebrow. “And how exactly do we do that? If the conspiracy’s unfolding at the Royal Palace, we’d probably have to go there, meet the general face to face, and get him to talk.” I pointed at her with my knife. “But since you yourself said no one knows you there, we won’t get past the front gate.”

Amelia folded her arms and looked up at the ceiling in thought.

Gourry suddenly chimed in with a stupid plan.

“Hey, guys!” he said. “How about we make some trouble and get arrested? We’d probably get to meet the general that way.”

Sigh.

“Gourry,” I said flatly, “generals don’t come to visit common criminals.”

Gourry didn’t seem convinced. “But, I mean…” “You mean what?” I leveled a stare at him.

Amelia nodded enthusiastically. “I think Mister Gourry may be right!” she declared. “Once we’re arrested, we can quietly break out of jail and go get our proof!”

I was sorely tempted to drop my face into my soup. I took a deep breath.

“Listen,” I said slowly and very clearly. “Assuming we do that, and assuming we find the best damn proof ever, who’s gonna believe it coming from a bunch of crooks? We’ll be felons at that point,” I added; I couldn’t make any assumptions with that crowd.

Amelia paused, then clapped her hands together in front of her chest.

“Justice always wins,” she recited. “If we find our proof, we’ll make it work somehow!”

“If we find our proof!” I snapped. “I already said we’re going off rumor. What if we get arrested, break out, and find the general, and all this mess turns out to be nothing?”

“But… Mister Zelgadiss said they really are gathering soldiers and sorcerers!” she retorted.

“It could easily be a domestic dispute or some new training for the army. Even if the dragons and elves thing is true, they may just want to defend themselves if the demons of Kataart attack them.” I sighed. “We’re worried about this country invading Kataart. If it’s anything else, it’s a local issue and not our problem.

“Which brings me to my original point: We need to confirm the rumors before we do anything drastic. We’ll worry about using proof to stop the general from manipulating the king into a suicidal war after we find out whether or not that’s actually happening.”

I had everyone’s attention at last. Well… in a way. Amelia had shut up, Zelgadiss was brooding, and Gourry was licking his plate.

“I know how we can do this,” I said. “If they’re using dragons and elves, they need people who speak Dragon and Elvish. If they’re teaching soldiers black magic, they obviously need sorcerers. The Sorcerers’ Guild would know if those sorts of people were being gathered. We’ll go there first, then try the city’s information brokers.”

Amelia finally seemed to like my not-insane plan. “Good!” she cried as she jumped to her feet. “So Mister Zelgadiss and Mister Gourry will ask around the city, and you and I will go to the Sorcerer’s Guild!”

… I hadn’t counted on being stuck with Amelia through all this. She was going to be insufferable, wasn’t she?

I sighed. Oh, well, I thought as I pushed back my chair. It still beats bringing Gourry.

* * *

Two days later, as I sat in the library of the Sorcerers’ Guild, a prediction of mine came true.

“Lina Inverse, I presume,” came a voice from above.

I looked up. A soldier in full armor towered over my table; a small cluster of other soldiers armed similarly were flanking him. The armed unit looked pretty out of place in a room full of books. I noticed all the other sorcerers in the library staring at us.

Here we go. “I think you’ve got the wrong girl,” I said casually. I never play it straight when ambushed—it’s better to try and trick your opponent so you can make some kind of getaway.

The soldier wasn’t at all phased by my You’ve-Got- The-Wrong-Girl Attack. “Lina Inverse, I presume,” he repeated without blinking an eye.

Stiffs. Great. But as I mentioned, I sorta expected this. Amelia and I had split our duties at the Sorcerers’ Guild— she asked around while I hit the history books—so I was spending most of my time alone. I’d decided to skimp on the reading of recent national history and instead looked up old legends for a clue on how to fight demons.

Anyway, the real cincher was that I didn’t have to register when I came into the library. That probably meant somebody was expecting me.

“That’s me,” I admitted at last, closing my book with a thump.

“If you would come with us to the castle.”

Figures. Their armor was the kind formally worn by Royal Knights. What I hadn’t yet figured out was why I was being asked to the palace for some sort of… chat. Or beating, maybe.

“Why?” I asked, deciding to be direct.

“We know nothing beyond the facts that you would be here and we must bring you,” the knight replied in an intensely serious tone.

He was making my wiggling out of this very difficult. If he’d said “I can’t say,” I could’ve shot back with, “I can’t respond to a summons if you won’t tell me what it’s for.” But now, if I accused his order of being suspicious and caused a ruckus, I’d just look like I had something to hide. I didn’t have a choice but to play along.

“Fine,” I said after a second. “Just let me tell the girl I’m with first—she’ll worry if I disappear on her.”

The soldier paused. “Make it quick,” he said curtly.

I returned my book to its shelf, exited the library, and started looking around for Amelia. The soldiers followed at my heels, making us all look like we were playing a game of Follow The Leader for Stupid Adults.

Because I was about as conspicuous wandering around as a roast pig on a vegetarian platter, Amelia found me first.

“Lina!” she cried as she ran up. She took one look at me, then at the soldiers, then back at me.

“What did you do now?!” she shrieked loud enough for half the city to hear.

“Keep it down!” I snapped. “I have a reputation!” I jerked a thumb at the brain brigade behind me. “They want me to go to the palace with them.”

Amelia raised her eyebrows. “Are you sure that’s safe?” she asked in a barely quiet whisper. “Maybe I should go with you.”

I waved a hand dismissively. “I’ll be fine. If something bad happens, I’ll just blow the place up and meet you back at the Guild.”

Since I made sure to say that last part loud enough to be heard, one of the knights made a surprised and angry snort.

“But that’s only if I’m put in danger,” I added. “If I’m just being brought there to talk, I wouldn’t dream of being difficult.” The same knight made another snort, this one more subdued. I was pretty sure the soldiers understood what I was implying.

“Tell the others, Amelia.” I turned to the knights. “We can get going now.”

As I walked off with my own personal guard unit, I pretended not to notice the worried look on Amelia’s face.

* * *

Beyond the palace gates lay a vast green lawn. A white stone path cut through the brilliant green and ended at the dark-stoned, austere Royal Palace.

The building wasn’t fancy, but it definitely looked sturdy. The palace and its surrounding area was enclosed by a stone wall; isolated buildings dotted the compound here and there. In front of one of the non-castle buildings was some important-looking guy—Captain of the Guard, probably—giving instructions to a line of knights.

“This way.”

The knights led me to a building on the right a little ways away. The place was flanked by several other soldiers.

… I knew this pattern. Somebody was going to attack me by surprise. I clenched my fists and kept walking as casually as possible.

One of the knights walked to the door and shouted at it, “We’ve brought Lina Inverse!”

“Enter!” a gatekeeper yelled back.

The knight opened the door and led us through. The room inside was pretty big—it looked like some kind of conference area, maybe. A trio of men sat around a large table in the center of the room.

One looked like a sorcerer. He was middle-aged and seemed eccentric, which was part of what tipped me off. The other two were soldiers: one older and Spartan, the other younger and handsome.

The middle-aged soldier rose to his feet and smiled. “So you’re Miss Lina Inverse,” he said in a surprisingly friendly tone. “We’ve heard so much—it’s an honor to meet you. Forgive us for summoning you here so suddenly.”

I stopped for a second, confused. The greeting wasn’t exactly what I expected.

Um… nobody’s trying to kill me, I thought. Why is nobody trying to kill me?

“I am Rashatt,” he went on. “General of Dilse’s armed forces.”

“Huh?!” The instant I blurted my shock, I regretted it. Rashatt was obviously taken aback by my outburst.

I was just surprised, all right? So sue me!

Keep it together, Lina!

“Is it something about my name?” Rashatt offered carefully.

I quickly shook my head and threw out my hands. “No!” I exclaimed. “Ah, no. I just heard about you from an old friend. That’s all, really.”

I couldn’t believe it. If Rashatt was the evil mastermind behind the suicidal demon slaughter, why was he being so open and nice?! I practically heard the entire world laughing at me.

Rashatt gestured to the table. “At any rate, Miss Lina—please have a seat. I’ve summoned you here today because I have a favor to ask of you.”

I swallowed and took a chair. Whatever he had to say, I had to pretend he wasn’t freaking me out.

He sat down and folded his hands together. “I think this needs no explanation,” he began, “but to the north of this nation lie the Kataart Mountains, a dwelling of demons. This country has been threatened by that menace since its founding.

“It’s important to note that demons have not yet launched a full-scale invasion,” he admitted, “but there’s no guarantee that they won’t one day do so. If that were to happen, our means of resistance would be rather meager.”

Okay, then.

As I sat back and listened to his piece, a soldier brought some drinks over. I passed; there was no guarantee Rashatt wasn’t being nice just to lower my guard and drug me.

“The best we have is a small fort near Kataart where soldiers are stationed to observe the mountains. However, while this can keep unwary humans from going to Kataart, it will be of little use if demons descend. These men could do no more than send a panicked messenger to raise a call to arms; slowing a demon advancement is beyond them.”

Rashatt glanced in the direction of the middle-aged sorcerer. “We’ve been teaching offensive magic to our soldiers to improve our chance of resistance. We asked Galia’s Sorcerers’ Guild for assistance, and I hoped for Vice- Chairman to personally give instruction… but it’s proven to be difficult for those without the relevant experience to understand how offensive magic is to be used in actual battle.

“As luck would have it, the librarian at the Guild library recognized you. And I’ve heard rumors that you are experienced in fighting demons.” He leaned forward a bit, his gaze intent.

“Lina Inverse… would you be interested in teaching offensive combat magic to our soldiers?”

My mouth opened, but it took me a second to make any sound. “Hm,” I managed at last, leaning back in my chair. I folded my arms and took a deep breath.

Well, so much for me preparing for the worse. I’d pretty much put money on General Rashatt greeting me alone, revealing the fact that he was a Mazoku, laughing maniacally while rambling off anywhere from ten to one hundred percent of the demons’ scheme, and then getting pounded when Gourry and the others arrived for no good reason.

It had made sense in my head. And honestly, that’s how a fair chunk of our adventures work out. “This wasn’t what I was expecting,” I murmured.

Rashatt heard me, apparently. “What did you expect?” he asked.

I quickly covered. “Oh, you know,” I said in a brush- off manner. “I didn’t expect all this. You know.”

When he just stared at me, I made stuff up as fast as I could. “I’m just… it’s not that I have an urgent trip tomorrow morning or anything, but I am pretty busy. And I don’t intend to stay in Galia for very long, anyway. Oh—and I have people traveling with me. You know how that can be.”

“Ah,” Rashatt said, quickly waving his hands. “I have no intention to keep you long. A month, perhaps, or ten days? Even two or three days is fine if that’s all you can spare.” He nodded knowingly. “Of course, I realize that it would be unreasonable to ask you to teach magic in such a short time, so I would be more than grateful if you just passed on tips: when to use combat spells, what to watch out for, how demons fight, and so on.”

I thought on that one for a minute. If General Rashatt was some kind of demon, he could be laying a trap. What better way to catch me by surprise than by keeping me locked in the castle with a job?

On the other hand, if the general was just a regular guy and everything he’d said was on the level, his proposition sounded annoying at worst. Annoying I could deal with— especially for a few days. I was used to dealing with annoying.

Whatever I decided, I had to tell the others. Amelia would probably assume our worst fears were true and knock down the castle gates if I didn’t meet up with her soon.

“Look,” I said at last. “I’ll think it over. I need to go back and discuss it with my companions in the city”

“That would be problematic,” Rashatt replied.

I raised an eyebrow. “Really,” I said carefully. “And why is that?”

“This matter is still being kept secret from the public,” the general replied calmly. “Despite the fact that our plan is one of defense, it may appear to others that we’re preparing for war with other nations. I wish to avoid having needless misunderstandings arise.”

I couldn’t argue that. I’d assumed something far more dangerous and sinister than “defense” myself.

“We intend to make this public once all preparations and arrangements have been completed. I would ask that you speak to no one of this.” Rashatt paused. “If your companions can keep this secret, as well, I don’t mind your speaking with them, but doing so in the city would be problematic.”

I shrugged. “Then do you mind calling them here? I’ll wait while messengers bring them in from the city.” Rashatt stroked his chin. “In that case…”

* * *

The room they gave me was less than lavish.

It was isolated—predictably—and had a single bed, a table cut out of black oak, and two matching chairs. A pitcher rested on top of the table.

Whatever, I thought. The place wasn’t fancy, but it passed. I had more important things on my mind.

The soldier who had led me there still stood in the doorway. “Please wait here,” he said evenly. “I’ll summon your companions.” He closed the door and walked down the hallway, but I waited until the sound of his steps faded before I finally relaxed.

“Phew.” I flopped onto the bed, which turned out to be comfortable. I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling.

I was still pretty confused about the whole situation, so I lay there for a while to think. I worked through a number of possible situations that ended in my dying, my not dying, and plenty of things in-between. I’d nearly made myself dizzy with the possibilities when the sound of more footsteps broke my thoughts.

I quickly sat up. It was too early to be Gourry and everyone. So who is it? I wondered.

Finally, the footsteps came to a halt just outside my room.

Click. A small metallic sound made my heart drop to my stomach. I jumped to my feet.

Someone had just locked me in.

“Heh heh,” chuckled a disembodied voice I’d never heard before. “This is the end for you, Lina Inverse.”

I finished casting a wind barrier and ducked under the oak table.

BOOOOOOM! The stone wall next to my door suddenly exploded. The force of whatever had blasted it made my room shake, sending dust and pebbles spewing in at me. I ducked my head under my arms.

“What the hell?!” I cried as I coughed.

It took a few seconds for the echo of the explosion to trail off. As I tried to hack the dust out of my lungs, I thanked my lucky stars for an idiot attacker—I’d managed to cast and complete that wind barrier while he’d dramatically turned the key and declared victory.

Hubris, I thought. How many times have you saved my butt?

I spit the last of the dust from my mouth and stood. I peered into the darkness, but I couldn’t see anybody.

… So I was in a trap. The good news was that I wasn’t dead. The bad news was that whoever had been outside my door hadn’t cast a spell—his attack had come directly after him saying he would kill me. There was only one kind of creature that could activate a spell without casting it.

A Mazoku.

I fleetingly wondered if that meant General Rashatt was a demon, but more immediate thoughts of survival took priority. The blast had blown through my wall and the wall opposite it, which led outside. I leapt into the night air and ran as fast I could across the palace lawn.

“Hey!”

“Over there!”

I cursed under my breath as a number of soldiers ran toward me. I couldn’t afford to get captured, but I wasn’t about to kill flunkies who probably had nothing to do with this. I hurriedly chanted a spell for flight.

“You’re still alive?” someone hissed hatefully from above.

I jerked my head up. A single silhouette floated in the air. I ground my teeth together. The thing wasn’t a person, obviously, even though its size and general shape were humanoid. The thing’s twisting, convulsing body was charcoal black, its face was snow white, and its extremely wide-set eyes were red as blood.

For a second, I wondered if it was General Rashatt in his true form, but his voice was different. This demon’s voice was definitely the one I’d heard outside my room.

Of course, demons more powerful than my new floating friend could disguise themselves as completely believable humans. He might be able to swing changing the tone and pitch of his voice…

Forget it, Lina! I reminded myself angrily. Worry about it after you get back to your teammates in one piece!

“This time,” the demon snarled, “I’ll show no mercy!”

The moment he spoke, countless pale-blue balls of light popped up around him and started shooting off in all directions.

“Aaagh!” I cut off my thoughts and picked up speed.

BOOM!

One of the balls exploded right behind me. I could barely evade the things as I made a beeline for the palace gates.

“You can’t run!” the demon shouted as he shot another ball of light. The ball bore into the ground, smashed into the royal compound’s wall, and threw uninvolved soldiers into the air like rag dolls.

He wasn’t just firing his power at me—he was shooting it off in all directions. The Royal Palace was taking some serious damage.

Bastard! I thought. Some demons have scruples when they fight, but this guy was a real ass.

I managed to evade the demon’s attacks by zig­zagging across the lawn. After I jumped through the hole he’d smashed in the lawn’s wall, I ventured a quick glance over my shoulder.

He was still chasing me. In fact, the guy looked ready to tear down the world.

“I said you can’t run!” he shouted as more balls of light sprang up around him.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. “Don’t!” I screamed, screeching to a halt without thinking. I was already dozens of steps into the city.

Whether or not he heard me didn’t seem to matter— the next instant he’d turned Galia into a sea of flames.