Gearing up for the Big Fight

Gearing up for the Big Fight

A flash of silver light cleaved upward and splintered the window shutters from bottom to top. The ruined wood slowly swung open to reveal a lone figure silhouetted against the full moon.

Zuuma.

Talk about deja vu, I thought. Zuuma relished dramatic entrances, but the act was getting old; during our first encounter back in Saillune, Zuuma had also appeared at my bedroom window during a quiet moonlit night. The man clearly didn’t believe in variation.

“I’m here,” I told him flatly. “Just like you wanted.” I drew my sword as inconspicuously as I could, though my muscles still ached.

He paused. “I’ve no intention of letting you slow me down,” he warned as he grasped the window frame. Which meant he’d sensed my backup. With the element of surprise gone, I figured there was no more point in waiting.

“Amelia!” I shouted, then dove out of the way.

“Gaav Flare!”

VOOM!

Amelia’s streak of fire incinerated its way through the bed before shooting through the room and striking the shutters. Unfortunately, Zuuma jumped inside and sidestepped the window frame, letting the wood ignite beside him.

Amelia pointed defiantly at Zuuma. “It’s been awhile!” she called. “We suspected you’d try to sneak in here like this, so I hid under Lina’s bed. I didn’t want to miss the chance to administer some justice to the likes of you!”

Well, it had seemed like a good plan. Even though Radok had assigned us individual quarters, we all knew that I was the one Zuuma was most likely to attack, so Amelia had offered to lodge secretly in my room. Of course, it was no surprise that an assassin of Zuuma’s caliber could sense the number of presences inside a room before he entered; maybe we shouldn’t have bothered.

“I think he noticed,” I muttered to Amelia.

Amelia clenched her fist with gusto. “Regardless,” she announced, shaking that fist at Zuuma. “You may have outmaneuvered me this once, but you won’t ever do so again!”

Zuuma looked amused for a moment, almost like he held back a chuckle. But then he shifted his gaze to me and the humor vanished from his eyes.

Before I could even blink, Zuuma jumped from the window and zoomed across the room for me.

I swallowed down the instinct to retreat. I wasn’t about to leave Amelia alone to fight my battles for me. As if! Besides, I wanted to give that guy a taste of my shiny new sword; Gourry had taught me a bunch of new moves to—

CHING!

The instant Zuuma swept past me, I knew I was in for it. My brand-new, supposedly kickass short sword snapped in half like peanut brittle.

AAGH! Why do I suck so much?!

Zuuma unleashed a powerful kick in my direction. I jerked back and managed to avoid it, but only through sheer luck. I knew I had to put some distance between us or I was as good as dead.

Zuuma thrust his left hand at my throat. I reflexively bent backward and evaded it, but only barely; I felt the violent whoosh of air as his hand jabbed at the empty space beside my ear.

I threw my broken sword at Zuuma. And no, the move still didn’t work—he just swatted the hilt away. Okay! Next?

I feinted, and that pushed an extra second between me living and me getting murdered. I quickly began to chant a spell.

Amelia, angled at his flank, had already finished chanting hers. “Dam Brass!”

As easily as he’d dodged her first spell, Zuuma leapt upward and out of the way. Amelia charged in toward him, forcing Zuuma to turn and face her. She was clearly at a disadvantage—not only was Zuuma way too fast for her, he had far more power and skill than she did. Amelia would be mincemeat if I didn’t step in!

That’s when an idea hit me. I took a breath and threw out my hands. “Lighting!” I shouted.

In reaction to my spell, Zuuma nimbly twisted his body to dodge it. But my aim wasn’t to hit and blind him with lighting; I had something bigger in mind. The magic light flew past Zuuma and burst up near the ceiling. Light flooded the room, momentarily illuminating the inside of my swiftly-getting-wrecked chambers.

There, on the floor, appeared exactly what I wanted: Zuuma’s shadow.

Yes!

I knew that if I could pin Zuuma’s shadow to the floor with Shadow Snap, it would nail him in place and solve half our problems. Then Amelia and I could gang up on the immobile bastard and finally end our ridiculous adventure!

But—as these things go—someone always comes along to screw the pooch. I hadn’t yet begun chanting my Shadow Snap when someone started pounding on the door.

SLAM!

“What’s wrong?!” came Gourry’s frantic voice. “Lina, did something happen?!”

His timing couldn’t have been worse. Still, with all the commotion going on, it actually sounded like we’d woken up the entire house.

“What’s wrong?!” cried a servant.

“Intruders?!” shouted another.

“Is Mister Radok safe?! Has anyone looked?!”

“Somebody call for the city guards!”

Zuuma grunted in disappointment. Obviously not happy with the situation, he launched himself in the direction of the window.

“Wait!” Amelia yelled. She bolted after him, but it was too late; with a flying leap, Zuuma vaulted through the destroyed window frame and disappeared into the night.

CRASH!

That was the instant Gourry kicked down the door. He flew into the room, his hand on the hilt of his sword.

“Are you guys all right?!” he asked breathlessly.

Amelia and I exchanged glances. “Yeah,” I answered with a sigh. “We’re fine.”

Gourry didn’t look convinced. Amelia flashed him a thumbs-up, trying to cover for my disappointment.

I was relieved, sure, but still a little miffed. Another minute and I might’ve actually nailed Zuuma. Or died, I reminded myself.

Shortly after Amelia and I had checked ourselves for injuries, Radok stormed into the room. I wasn’t surprised—since when had he ever passed up an opportunity to yell at me?

“What happened?!” Radok fumed, his head jerking back and forth as he took in the condition of my chambers. “Do you mean to tell me Zuuma was just in here?! And that you let him get away?!”

Radok’s burning eyes focused on Amelia and me. As much as the man tried to cut an imposing figure, the silly nightgown and slippers he wore pretty much ruined the effect. I suppressed a snort as he angrily crossed his arms.

To be honest, I shared Radok’s frustration. Despite the fact that Zuuma had gotten away, Amelia’s spell had demo­lished the window, (and a large chunk of the surrounding wall) pieces of rubble lay across the floor, and I’d lost my door. All in all, the room looked like hell.

“Zuuma was here,” I confirmed, using my best distraction mechanism: shifting the blame. “And we did our best.”

“You lie!” Radok boomed with an indignant wave of his arm.

Uh… excuse me?!

After all Amelia and I had just been through, I couldn’t believe that jerk had the nerve to throw accusations at me. I clenched my fists, my rage churning in the pit of my stomach.

“On what grounds are you calling me a liar, sir?” I hissed.

“If the assassin had used a spell big enough to blow a hole through that wall, neither of you would be here to tell the tale.”

“I already told you that Zuuma isn’t that kind of assassin!” I shot back. Zuuma was the type to carry out his assignments with precision; excessive collateral damage just made him look less professional. Besides, it was looking more and more like he wanted to kill me the old-fashioned way: with his hands wrapped around my throat.

“And how can you be sure of such a thing?!” Radok asked brashly, his chest puffed out. “Does he never use attack spells? Did that hole just appear in the wall?!”

Like I was gonna admit that was us. I clenched my jaw and kept silent.

“Even if you are telling the truth, in the end you still let him get away. Damn it all to hell—I pay you a lavish fee to guard me, and you only succeed in destroying my house!” He threw up his arms. “And on top of that, you have the gall to stand there and defend yourself!”

“This is why I implored you to throw them out, Father,” came a familiar aggravating voice. Abel, apparently, had snuck in behind Radok at some point.

“If you think about it, the ruckus was probably just a charade these two made up.” Abel pointed at Amelia and me. “Throwing them out is the only—”

“Silence!” Radok roared.

I was glad Abel’s daddy clammed the boy up, because I was just about to do so with my fists.

Radok whipped to his son. “I told you before! If they’re simply frauds, all I lose is a little money—but if they’re not, I may lose my life!”

“But think about it, Father!” Abel leaned in, ready to argue his asinine point. “She herself said the assassin would be after her first. If that’s true, then kicking her and her disgusting entourage out on the street will draw the assassin further away from you!”

Radok glared at his son. “Are you saying that I should live the rest of my life in fear of an assassin’s shadow? Not knowing when or where that shadow will ever fall upon me?!”

Abel didn’t reply. He moved his hard gaze from Radok to me, his lips curled tight.

Radok had a point. Believe me, it’s way easier to shake off the fear of an enemy you can size up. When you can’t see who’s after you, you can go crazy wondering when your enemy will strike and whether or not you have the power to win.

But whatever—there was nothing vague about Zuuma, and Radok had heard plenty of stories about Zuuma’s victims. Radok probably saw me as a human shield between him and Zuuma; if I faced off with Zuuma and lost, then Radok’s best hope was to launch an immediate attack of his own. I was sure that was why he wanted us in his proximity at all times.

The best solution was to go after Zuuma and settle up with him once and for all. If I didn’t, I was afraid I’d find myself eternally stuck between Radok and Abel’s ridiculous bickering. Given the choice, I preferred Zuuma.

Abel clicked this tongue. “At any rate,” he announced, “I daresay we won’t tolerate these terrible ruckuses much longer.”

“Indeed,” Radok snorted. He paused to think.

“As of right now,” he said at last, “I don’t favor expelling you from our home just yet. Not while my life is in danger.” He threw his gaze around the room, letting it drag across Amelia, Gourry, and me before landing on his son. He scowled. “Is that understood?”

Without waiting for an answer, Radok turned on his heels and marched out of the room. Abel waited until his father was gone before making an ugly sneer. “Wonderful,” he muttered.

My sentiments exactly.

On his way out, Abel paused to look back at us. He spat out an expletive before flouncing away down the corridor. I would’ve returned the favor with an obscene gesture if the room hadn’t been full of Radok’s servants.

“Don’t let it bother you, dear,” offered a plump middle-aged maid as she waddled toward us. She spread her palms in a conciliatory gesture. “The master and his son are both short-tempered, but they’re only quarreling because the master’s life is in danger. They usually get along very well.”

Amelia rolled her eyes skeptically. “I’m sure.”

“It’s true,” the woman maintained. “After his wife departed, the master raised his son to manhood all by himself.”

Ugh… I really don’t want to think about Abel’s manhood.

I could feel it coming on—a technique with devastating effects, simple to learn but difficult to master. It’s commonly called The Idle Chitchat, and I had no doubt that the prattling old maidservant was magnificent at it.

I’d definitely gotten enough of that at the magic shop. Besides, it’s hard to be patient in the middle of the night and right after being jumped. I knew I had to think fast.

“Sure,” I said quickly. “Fine. Then we’d better get rid of that assassin, for both their sakes.”

The woman nodded solemnly. She opened her mouth to talk again, but I cut her off with a question. “If the assassin came here to kill, er, Master Radok, someone hired him to do so. Can you think of anyone who would do that?”

The plump old woman pursed her lips. “Master has no enemies that I know of. Oh, but you never know, do you? There are many troubled and resentful people about in the world. I don’t know much about his business affairs, but perhaps the killer is somehow involved in them? If that’s indeed the case, perhaps the culprit is Rezak.”

Rezak? I wondered. But I didn’t wonder long, because the lady didn’t stop to breathe.

“He was my former master,” she said, “the gentleman who resided here before Master Radok. He supposedly lost his house due to mismanagement. Then again, mismanaging money doesn’t sound like Rezak. But if that wasn’t the case, I don’t know why—”

“Thank you,” I broke in loudly. “Then I’ll just be going!”

“Ah!” the maidservant exclaimed, completely igno­ring me. “Perhaps it’s a grudge against master’s father, then! His father was generous, you see, but some knew him to be quite greedy. I’m sure there were many who resented him!”

“Thanks, I’ll look into—”

“Mister Balom, for instance—he’s the preeminent merchant in Vezendi right now. But the master’s father, when he was alive, was always one step ahead of him.” Talk about opening a can of worms!

The maidservant went on and on like that ‘till daybreak. No matter how hard I tried to sneak into Amelia’s bedroom, the maid always managed to grab my arm, lean in closer, and unleash another round of babbling. Everything she said eventually became a mangled mishmash of nonsense in my overtired brain; I don’t know why she even bothered trying to crack the mystery with me at that hour.

By the time I finally crawled into a spare bed, I couldn’t keep my head up. I passed out with tears of exhaustion in my eyes.

* * *

Luckily, nobody woke me until noon. I say “luckily” because if anyone had tried to touch me prior to that, I would’ve ripped off the their arm.

After a quick lunch, Gourry, Amelia, and I decided to set out and make inquiries around the city. The Radok household was just like it had been the night before—marked mostly by a lot of father-son quarreling and simmering hostility toward me and mine—so we decided it would be best to strike out on our own if we wanted to make any progress on the case. We made sure to get Radok’s permission and leave Xelloss behind to “guard” (eat and sleep in) Radok’s estate.

We also made a quick stop at a weapon’s shop so I could buy a new short sword. The blade I picked wasn’t exactly top of the line, but it was more than decent. It set me back a pretty penny.

As the afternoon turned to evening, we gave up scouring the city for clues and instead decided to rendezvous with Zelgadiss. It was nice to use his inn’s tavern as a meeting place instead of a battleground— y’know, for a change.

“How about today?” Zelgadiss asked after I’d filled him in. “What did your inquiries in the city turn up?”

“Not much. Since Radok took over the family business, it’s really fallen in prestige.” I took a long drink from my cup before murmuring into it, “Though he’s still making plenty of money.”

Amelia nodded along as I spoke. Gourry sat slumped in his seat, probably half asleep.

“Anyway,” I continued, “the other merchants in Vezendi found Radok’s dad a nasty person to do business with. I can see someone hiring an assassin to knock off that guy, but he’s already dead.” I shrugged. “People think Radok’s more of a pushover than his father. I doubt anyone would target him because of his dad’s old faults.

“But there’s this guy, Rezak. He used to live in Radok’s place before Radok bought it. He may need a second look.”

“Him? Why?”

“Some people said that right after Radok bought the property for nothing, Rezak got drunk and wandered around yelling, ‘I’m getting out of this city!’ The next morning, he disappeared; no one’s seen or heard from him since.”

Zelgadiss frowned. “That may be weird, but do you really think he’s our guy?”

“I dunno.” I took another swig. “Since there’s no sign of foul play, it looks like he really did leave the city. We just can’t be sure.” I thought for a moment, then added, “But we don’t have time to nose around the city and find out. It doesn’t sound like Rezak had the money or the guts to take a hit out on Radok, anyway.

“Radok’s house apparently changed ownership two or three times before Rezak, but I doubt any of the former owners would go through the trouble of hiring an assassin like Zuuma, either.”

Zelgadiss clasped his fingers together on the table, mulling over everything I’d told him. “So what you’re saying,” he murmured at last, “is that some secret grudge is behind this. Something we can’t possibly know.”

“Exactly.”

Zelgadiss shifted in his seat. “Fine,” he said, a bit of spite in his tone this time. “There’s something else I wanted to ask you.” He turned a hard gaze to me. “What the hell has Xelloss been doing all this time?”

“Playing chess,” Amelia replied with a snort.

“That little bastard!” Zelgadiss made a fist. “Slacking off, is he? I’m not surprised!”

I gestured for them to settle down. “We’re in a public place,” I hissed. “And stop worrying about Xelloss.” Zelgadiss and Amelia both glared at me.

I glared back. “Look, you two,” I said flatly. “Xelloss is our traveling companion. He’s not our friend, and he’s not our ally. Got it?”

Zelgadiss exhaled loudly through his nostrils. “Whatever,” he grunted.

Amelia sighed angrily and slouched. “I guess you’re right,” she admitted.

As cold as it sounded, it didn’t change the truth. I couldn’t be sure of Xelloss’ true motives, and because I couldn’t trust him, I definitely couldn’t rely on him. If it had been up to Zelgadiss and Amelia, Xelloss wouldn’t have been with us at all… but I preferred to keep him around, in case he might come in handy.

“Zel.” I wanted to change the subject. “Zuuma’s appearance last night didn’t exactly surprise me, but it still got me wondering. Have you seen any suspicious men lodging around here?”

Zelgadiss raised an eyebrow. “Uh,” he murmured, “this isn’t exactly a classy inn, Lina. Everyone here’s suspicious, myself included. Besides,” he absently cupped his mug, “this Zuuma seems pretty shifty. If he’s powerful enough to give Gourry a run for his money, he can probably lay low and conceal his powers while he’s out and about. Add to that the possibility that he got to Vezendi well before we did, and we’re looking for a needle in a haystack.”

Zel is usually right. I hated him particularly for it at that moment. “Great,” I muttered. “So our only choice is to wait for him to come to us again.”

“What connection do you think those Mazoku have with Radok’s problems?”

“Beats me. But Zuuma tells me to come to Vezendi, and as soon as we arrive, wham!” I slapped a fist into a palm. “We’re attacked by Seigram and a few of his charming friends. That doesn’t sound like a coincidence to me.”

I stopped to think for a second. “But that doesn’t sound like Zuuma,” I admitted. “I’m sure he’d want to finish a job he started all by himself. He wouldn’t want a bunch of demons swinging in to do it for him.”

“Maybe it’s the other way around. You think Seigram went to Zuuma instead?”

“That’s the same problem. Look at it from Seigram’s point of view: if he wants me dead, why would he lower himself to join forces with a human assassin?”

Suddenly, Amelia shot up in her chair. “Something just hit me,” she announced.

I wondered if it had been a walnut thrown at her by one of the other customers in the tavern. But no—she actually had a point.

“If Zuuma was hired to kill Lina,” she explained, “and if he was also hired to kill Mister Radok, then maybe whoever hired him for Mister Radok has a connection to Seigram!”

I groaned at the suggestion. “You mean whoever hired Zuuma for Radok just happened to have a connection to someone else we fought before?”

She squinted her eyes in a wince. “I guess it is a bit of a stretch,”

Gourry took the opportunity to say something. “Whatever it is,” he said simply, “who cares? Sooner or later, all that’s gonna matter is whether or not we can kick everyone’s ass.”

He sure knows how to bring down a conversation.

I slumped in my chair. “The man’s got a point,” I said glumly.

Gourry can’t follow conversations—I doubt he’d been following ours, actually—but he’s still good at looking for the bottom line. If we were going to get through our predicament alive, our only hope was to track our opponents’ movements and nail them in a giant fight.

Or a bunch of little fights. A bunch of little fights that could take forever and a day. I sighed. Why were our adventures always plagued with so much downtime?

* * *

After supper, we made our way back to Radok’s place. The always-stoic Butler Raltaak showed us into the drawing room.

“Master Radok has been awaiting your return,” he intoned.

Amelia, Gourry, and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes. The last thing we needed right then was more bitching from Radok. Still, we were broke and Radok was paying us—what were we gonna do, ditch?

Raltaak gestured for us to sit on a sofa. Radok sat in a large, ornate chair opposite us, with Xelloss and Abel in chairs nearby. The butler then took his place in a corner of the room and stood there in silence.

“You’re late,” Radok spat out in his usual tone of displeasure.

I ignored him and sat back on the plush sofa. Gourry and Amelia followed suit.

Radok took a deep breath. “Well,” he said after a moment, “I didn’t call you here to complain.”

I guess hell froze over.

“I wanted to inform you,” he paused for effect, “that I’m departing on a journey.”

The three of us gave a start. Abel’s jaw hit the floor.

“You can’t be serious!” the idiot-in-question cried. “Father, we’re in a time of crisis—someone’s after your life! How can you risk traveling when your life is in danger?!”

“My merchandise supply has grown scant!” Radok shouted. “It’s time I purchased more goods!” His tone was even more commanding than before; Abel shrank back from the words.

“But Father!” Abel squeaked. “Surely you can get someone else to do that for you?”

Amelia piped up from her end of the sofa. “I’d advise that,” she said. “Zuuma’s more likely to attack you outside if that’s where you’re less protected.”

“This is business!” Radok roared.

The room fell silent.

“I’ve always inspected the quality of the goods I purchase personally,” Radok snapped. “And I don’t intend to change my policies now, no matter what the danger.” Having made his position abundantly clear, he shifted his attention back to me.

“Of course, I want you and your partners to come along to provide me with safe passage. It’s within the bounds of our contract, so I won’t accept a refusal!”

Sure I wanted more money, but what could I do? Xelloss was nothing more than a glorified freeloader at the house, and from Radok’s point of view, Amelia, Gourry, and I weren’t much better. I knew arguing with him might bring up those points—and I didn’t want to risk him slashing our pay even further.

“Good,” Radok said with a nod. “Then it’s settled. Now, as for preparations—”

“Father,” Abel broke in. The younger man dropped his eyes to the floor.

“What?” Radok growled, thumping a fist on his chair s armrest. “More complaints, boy?”

Abel shook his head. “No. I’m not going to object further, I only… ask for your permission to come along.” Radok’s face turned beet red. “You what?!” he snapped. “Don’t be ridiculous, Abel! My life is in danger—this isn’t some pleasure trip!”

“I know that,” Abel replied. “But as your son, I’ll inherit your business one day. This trip will give me an opportunity to learn the family trade.”

“But why now of all trips?!” The man had a very obvious point.

Abel shook his head. “This is as important to me as it is to you.” He crossed his arms and turned toward the door. “I’ve made my decision, Father. I’m coming along even if you try to stop me.”

And with that, Abel exited the room and swaggered down the hallway. I’m sure he left a trail of stupidity in his wake.

“Wait!” Radok cried out. “Abel!”

But Abel was already gone. As soon as we heard the sound of Abel’s boots descending down the stairs, Radok grabbed an armrest and nearly ripped it off the chair.

“RRRGH!”

Uh… calm down before you pop something.

Radok jumped out of his chair and stormed after Abel. At the door, he stopped to whip back around. “Be ready by morning,” he barked at us. “Am I clear?” He ran out without waiting for a reply.

Silence hung in the drawing room. The butler stepped out of the shadows near the doorway, bowed to us, then left without a word. Amelia, Gourry, Xelloss, and I were left to ourselves.

“Lina?” Gourry turned to me. “You went pretty easy on Radok. I was sure you’d blow up over the whole money thing.”

I shrugged distractedly. “Whatever,” I muttered. “I had something else on my mind.”

It was a vague response, but it piqued everybody’s interest. Even Xelloss arched an eyebrow at me from his chair. I decided to explain before everyone started with the “Tell me tell me tell me!”

“To be honest,” I said, “I think I’ve got Radok’s motives for this journey figured out.”

“His real motives?” Amelia asked, giving me a shifty look.

I wanted to see if Xelloss had picked up on it. “What did it look like to you?” I asked him.

My swinging the conversation in Xelloss’ direction made him start, but his ever-present smile quickly returned to his face. He gripped his chin. “Hmm,” he hummed. “I’m afraid I’m an outsider in this matter, so I can’t really give much of an opinion.”

“Just say it, you creep.”

Xelloss clasped his hands together. “In my humble opinion,” he said politely, “this is an old-fashioned baiting.”

“Good.” I hooked my thumbs in my belt. “So it’s not just me.”

Gourry made a face. “Wait a sec,” he said, scratching his head. “You lost me. Who’s in the what now?”

Gourry’s lost? Notify the press!

“What it comes down to is this,” I told the room. “Radok can’t take the heat anymore. As long as he stays in this house, Zuuma can sneak in, attack, retreat— whatever. Meanwhile Radok’s nerves are frayed and his house is falling apart; the longer this situation goes on, the worse state his home and finances will be in, especially since he’ll be spending more and more money just to keep us around.”

Amelia seemed to be catching on. Gourry’s brain— judging from the glazed look in his eyes—had moved to other topics or overwhelming nothingness, but what else was new?

“To make matters worse, as long as this issue isn’t settled, Radok has to live in fear. I think he’s reached his breaking point and wants to try something drastic.” I glanced over at Xelloss. “He’s using this bogus business trip to make himself a target. He wants to draw out Zuuma and settle everything.”

“Wait!” Amelia cried. “But… he wanted us to come! He’s putting you in danger, too!”

“What?!” Gourry blurted, bolting out of his seat. He even startled me. Amelia’s shorter sentences had caught his attention, apparently.

“Lina!” he bawled. “If you knew that, why’d you agree to go?”

I turned to him. “You think Radok’s the only one who wants to end all this crap? I’m getting just a little sick of Zuuma popping up in my bedroom at night. And think about jerkface and his jerkface son!” I swept my arm out, as if gesturing to the entire house. “Do you really wanna hang around here for months while getting whined at every morning?”

That wasn’t something any of us were particularly keen on. “Ugh,” Gourry and Amelia uttered simultaneously.

Yeah, I thought that would get ‘em.

Amelia let out a breath. “He didn’t really think this through, did he?” she murmured.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, if Zuuma manages to defeat you, he’ll go after Mister Radok next. And Mister Radok won’t be in any position to defend himself without a guard.”

“Tut-tut-tut.” I shook my head and wagged my finger at her. “That’s where you guys come in.”

Gourry and Amelia’s mouths fell open.

Do I suddenly have cabbage growing out of my ears? I wondered. Why is this a surprise?

“I mean, look. We’re already all going on this trip. And suppose Zuuma does kill me—what are you all planning to do then?”

“Do?” Gourry frowned. “We’ll have a funeral for you, duh.”

“I’ll probably go through your stuff and see if there’s something worth keeping,” Amelia chimed in.

“Laugh a lot,” Xelloss offered.

Some friends!

I shot the room an evil look. “Avenge me!” I snapped. “If Zuuma kills me, you’ll all try and avenge me!”

Amelia looked away. “Oh,” she said unconvincingly. “In other words,” I continued, a little loudly for Gourry’s benefit, “if Zuuma kills me, you’ll be sticking with Radok, since Zuuma—who you’ll have to kill to avenge my death—will go after him next.” I crossed my arms. “If I die, you guys are on double duty: bodyguarding and vengeance. Are you getting all this, Gourry?”

Gourry squinted. “Uh, I think so.”

Amelia scowled. With a little growl, she bolted out of her seat and raised her fist defiantly over her head.

Yes, boys and girls—it was that time again.

“Radok!” she cried. “He’s plotting to exploit people’s loyalties and use them for his own benefit! I refuse to associate with someone so evil!”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s not like we have a choice.”

“And why is that?!”

“Because we need money to live, Amelia. And Radok’s our only source of income right now.” I leveled my gaze at her. “And like I said, I want to settle this thing as much as Radok does. I miss sleeping with both eyes closed.”

“If that’s what you want,” Gourry commented, “I don’t have a problem with it.

A thoughtful silence followed. When Gourry spoke up again, it was with a question. “Just, Lina… what are we supposed to do about the demons?”

Dammit! I forgot about the demons!

It should be painfully obvious that I had a lot on my mind. Is it my fault that half the known world is after me at any given time? My brain can only process so many overlapping death threats!

“D-don’t worry about them,” I stammered as I waved a hand. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. No sweat!”

I tried to sound sure of myself, but I don’t think my reply convinced anyone.

* * *

The next day, the lot of us set out under an overcast sky to leave Vezendi City. According to Radok, our destination was Zeram in the north—a market city where Radok needed to “stock up on spices.”

Yeah, right!

Besides Amelia, Gourry, and me, we’d managed to get Xelloss and Zelgadiss to come along. Xelloss and Zelgadiss didn’t exactly chat up a storm, and Zel was pulling his cheerful face-covered-with-the-scarf thing, but I still figured we were in pretty good shape. Radok and Abel sat atop a rickety horse-drawn wagon driven by Butler Raltaak—clearly a man of many talents. The wagon bumped and swayed, and the two merchants didn’t look happy or comfortable riding on it. That made me smile.

The highway we traveled didn’t have much in the way of travelers. Gourry and I walked along the right side of the wagon, Amelia and Zelgadiss kept to the left, and Xelloss brought up the rear; although bandits weren’t common in those parts, we’d heard a rumor of brigands while stopping at a nearby inn. We all made sure to keep an eye out.

“Hold on a sec!” Gourry suddenly called, throwing a hand up.

Raltaak stopped the horse abruptly. Radok stuck his head out from under the wagon’s canopy, a familiar glower on his face.

“What now?!” he fumed. “What is the meaning of bringing us to a halt like this?!”

I took a deep breath. Patience, Lina.

“We’re about to be attacked,” I told him flatly. “Sorry for the trouble, sir.”

Radok gave a start, his eyes going wide. “Y-you mean him?”

“No,” Zelgadiss replied as he drew his broadsword.

Like Gourry and Zel, I could sense something out there: a numbers of presences, but none of them very powerful. All indications pointed to a team of mediocre bandits.

The thought of kicking some bandit ass perked me right up. I was sick of having to put up with Radok, his constant bickering with Abel, and the whole nerve- wracking Zuuma thing. It was time for some stress relief!

“We know you’re out there!” I hollered at the trees. “Now quit your hiding and take your spanking!”

“Don’t taunt them!” Radok snapped. I ignored him and called again.

Unfortunately, nobody responded from the thick surrounding forest. All I could hear was the breeze blowing through the trees’ upper branches.

Maybe I’d just caught them off-guard by detecting their presences. “What’s wrong?” I asked the invisible bandits. “Are you too busy pissing your pants to come out and fight?”

“Y-you got some gall talkin’ to us like that!” a bandit shouted back.

The thickets rustled as a gang of bandits spilled out. At rough count, they numbered around twenty, and they didn’t waste any time surrounding us. But I wasn’t sweating it; they were obviously on the crappier end of the bandit spectrum, and I even wished I could have them all to myself.

“Oh, look!” a bandit mocked. “You’re completely surrounded! Still feel like sassin’ back?”

I heard Radok snivel from inside the wagon. He clearly had no idea how much firepower my party wielded. At least Abel kept quiet and Raltaak seemed composed—one blubbering idiot was plenty annoying enough.

The bandit, though, wasn’t interested in my wards. His eyes started traveling in way more disgusting ways.

“I do like my women on the sassy side,” he said, baring his yellowed and broken teeth. “How’s about you and me havin’ a little fun, girlie, and I’ll see about sparin’ your friends’ lives.”

It was too gross for words.

“Can it,” I snapped. “We’re in a hurry, ugly, and we don’t have time to mess around with a small fry like you.”

The bandit’s grin immediately fell. “S-small fry?!” he repeated.

“Very small, if I had to guess.”

“Aarrrgh!” The bandit flailed his arms. “You ain’t gettin’ away with that! No mercy—kill ‘em all!”

The other bandits cried out an affirmative and charged us all at once.

“Flare Arrow!” I shouted.

Ten flaming arrows shot into the front row of bandits. Shrieking in shock and panic, the men began to scatter; though my arrows hit only a few of them, the suddenness of the volley totally threw the bandits out of whack.

“Gourry!” I yelled. “Your turn!”

“Got it!” Gourry yelled back as he plunged into the fray.

I couldn’t see the other side of the wagon, but I still heard the sound of blades clashing and Amelia chanting. Behind me, I noticed Xelloss fending off several bandits with nothing but his staff.

I finished chanting my spell—I wasn’t about to let anyone beat me in bandit-smashing.

“Bram Blazer!”

KA-BOOM!

A random bandit ate a direct hit from my spell and got blown sky high. I turned to the next charging bandit. I obviously couldn’t bring out any major spells, since that ran the risk of blowing up the wagon and my next paycheck; I had no choice but to pelt the bandits with smaller, less destructive magic.

Having to pull punches really put a damper on the fun.

“Too bad,” I said with a sigh. “This is about as hard as kicking over the kiddie table.”

The disgusting bandit from earlier—the one with the surprisingly good taste in women—snarled at me from nearby. His face flushed angrily.

“Fine!” he roared. “I’ll show you!” He raised his right hand suddenly, then just as suddenly dropped it.

Swish!

There was no mistaking that sound. I ducked as something whizzed over my head.

Thwack!

A single arrow, its shaft still quivering, had lodged itself in the wagon’s side.

There’s more of them? I thought. I quickly scanned for presences—sure enough, bloodlust raged from a nearby thicket, in the direction the arrow had come from. That was my next target.

I began chanting a spell, but a second arrow sliced through the air before I could finish. The horse screamed and reared as the arrow buried itself in the animal’s lower flank.

Dammit!

The horse bolted away in a panic, taking the wagon with it. All five of us noticed the wagon barrel off down the highway just a bit too late to stop it.

I admit that the thought of Radok and Abel stuck inside an out-of-control wagon made me crack up for a second, but it wasn’t the time for that. I quickly chanted a spell.

“Blast Ash!”

The spell I released found its mark, instantly incinerating the targeted spot of forest. The blood- lust vanished as the thicket was reduced to a heap of black ash.

Casanova practically squealed with fright. “What?!” he cried. “No way! This wasn’t part of the deal!”

Part of the deal?

I wanted to grab him by the neck and find out what he meant, but I had the wagon to think about. “Gourry!”

I yelled, pointing to the bandit in question. “Take this one alive!” Without bothering to wait for a reply, I quickly chanted a high-speed flight spell.

“Ray Wing!”

I took to the air abruptly, scaring the snot out of a few nearby bandits. I saw the wagon disappear just around a bend in the road; luckily, there was only one road for the wagon to follow. Sealed by the wind barrier, I flew down the highway, keeping just above ground.

It’s true that flying higher is safer than skimming dirt, but let me explain: Ray Wing’s weight capacity, altitude, and speed are all proportional to the caster’s skill. While I have the chops to unleash a powerful Ray Wing, the trick is in calibrating the spell’s variables to the needs of the moment—so I’d quickly adjusted my spell, trading altitude for speed. If I was going to catch up to my runaway employers, I needed all the speed I could get.

I could barely make out the barreling wagon far ahead, shadowed by the huge walls of trees that bordered the highway. I concentrated as hard as I could to boost my speed, but then ran into an unexpected snag.

SWOOSH!

Red-hot flames suddenly filled my field of vision.

“Agh!” I cried, blown off course by the fire. I slammed onto the dirt surface of the road and ploughed for a good distance off the highway’s shoulder. My wind barrier, luckily, protected me from sustaining any serious damage.

I quickly dispelled Ray Wing and struggled to my feet. The fire had been Flare Arrows, and plenty of them; whoever had sent them had scored a direct hit to my side.

All right, I thought angrily. Who’s the wise guy?!

Noises rustled from nearby brush. A second later, the caster of the Flare Arrows revealed himself—and three of his friends.

Lesser demons. That was all I needed.

I had no idea how they’d gotten there, but I didn’t have the time to find out. Lesser demons—the lowest ranking of all the Mazoku—possess the ability to neutralize most Shamanic Magic, so they can be dangerous if you’re not a warrior or sorcerer of considerable skill. It was a good thing they still sucked compared to me.

I noticed with dismay that the wagon had disappeared up the highway, and, looking behind me, Gourry and the others were nowhere in sight. I took a deep breath and whipped around to face the Mazoku.

“I don’t have time to play,” I warned, determined to put them down as fast as possible. I quickly began chanting a spell.

The four lesser demons roared and sent ten more Flare Arrows at me. I managed to dodge the volley without interrupting my spell, and yes, I’m that good.

“Ragna Blast!” I shouted.

My spell created a black, pillar-shaped warding field around one of the Mazoku. A blast of black plasma barbecued the sucker inside that field before you could say “extra crispy.”

That’s one! I thought.

Without skipping a beat, the three remaining lesser demons continued their succession of arrows. Dodging the salvo of fire, I chanted my next spell.

I couldn’t help but wonder why they were using such simple magic. Were they just trying to stall me? And if they were, why?

As luck would have it, one of the Mazoku stepped right in front of another. Talk about a perfect setup!

“Gaav Flare!” I cried.

The magic flames punctured a huge hole in the torso of the first demon and blew the head off the one standing behind him. The final Mazoku, apparently unbothered by the explosion of his comrades, just kept sending more arrows.

There was no doubt about it: I was being stalled. The concept pissed me off and only made me more anxious to take the last demon down. It did leave me wondering who had sent the Mazoku… I doubted the crappy bandits were behind it.

“Dynast Brass!”

Lightning bolts, arrayed in the shape of a pentagram, surrounded the lesser demon before skewering him from all sides. When the bolts vanished a moment later, the Mazoku was left a crumbling, blackened heap.

Finally! Without stalling another second, I cast another Ray Wing and flew down the highway.

I spotted a lone human figure staggering on the road before long. I didn’t see the wagon anywhere, but I recognized the person.

“Abel?!” I called out, rushing toward him. “What the hell happened to you?!”

Abel looked terrible. His clothes were dusty and tattered, and something had scratched him up all over his face and arms. He hobbled on one leg, wincing in pain.

“I… I jumped off the wagon.” His tone was a little meek.

“Just you?”

“Father and R-Raltaak are still there,” he panted as he leaned against a tree. He turned pained eyes to me. “Quickly… go after them!”

He was obviously hurting, but his injuries didn’t look too serious. I figured he could take care of himself while I saved the day.

“Wait here,” I told him before shooting off down the highway. A few minutes later, I saw a dark smudge in the distance.

Is that it? I wondered. As I got closer, the dark blob did, in fact, prove to be Radok’s wagon, but the look of it didn’t exactly fill me with hope. The thing had veered off the road and tumbled onto its side.

I released my spell and landed a short distance away. There was no sign of Radok or Raltaak; all I saw was the feebly panting horse sprawled out on the highway.

“Unn…”

The moan was definitely human. I whipped my head toward the woods to see Raltaak slouched against a tree trunk.

“Hey!” I called, running up to him. “Are you okay?” Raltaak grimaced weakly. “I-I’m all right,” he answered breathlessly. “It was Zuuma. The assassin was here.”

My blood went cold. “Zuuma?”

“H-he said that if you value the master’s life, you must come to the hunting lodge in the mountains east of the village of Dufon. Only you and Gourry Gabriev.”

So it had come down to a challenge. He’d kidnapped my employer and dragged him to some godforsaken place so I could meet my doom in private.

I clenched my fists. Dammit! I thought.

“My,” came a voice from behind me. “Quite a mess you’ve got here.”

I spun around. Xelloss, his eyes calmly running over the toppled cart, stood a little ways behind me. How long has he been there?

“Don’t surprise me like that,” I snapped. “Where are the others?”

“Tying things up. I’m sure they’ll be here soon.”

I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something about Xelloss seemed very… proactive. I’d even seen him fight some of the bandits. Xelloss, actually doing things?

Maybe he’s just getting bored, I thought.

“Xelloss, look after Raltaak.” I turned back in the direction I’d come. “I have to get back to the others.”

Xelloss smiled and saluted with his staff.

* * *

By the time I returned to the site of the bandit ambush, things were already under control. The highway was littered with smoldering or beat-up bandits, and the piles of them filled the air with the stench of sweaty, unwashed bandit flesh. It was one of the stinkier victories we’d ever had.

Gourry, Amelia, Zel, and I surrounded the bandit Gourry had captured, our weapons at the ready. It was time for some sweet interrogation.

“All right,” I snarled, jiggling my sword at our captive. “Who sent you, pipsqueak?”

The bandit, already pale, practically turned green. “I-I dunno,” he whimpered pathetically.

Awesome—we get to do this the hard way!

“Bull!” I bared my teeth, trying to look as fierce as possible. “I definitely heard you say ‘This wasn’t part of the deal.’ Now what was the deal, you pathetic waste of skin and fat?!”

“Uh!” he blubbered, his wide eyes on my sword. “This g-guy showed up at our hideout last night!”

“That’s not good enough, you rotten sack of steaming crap!”

“He was dressed in black, said his name was Zuuma!” The bandit sniveled, proving he had all the guts of Radok. “W-we usually kill anyone who finds our hideout, but this Zuuma guy had a couple of Mazoku with him, so we couldn’t do nothin’.”

“Demons?” I repeated. “You mean lesser demons?” The bandit squealed and shrunk back. “How should I know the difference between a lesser demon and any other demon?! I’ve heard of the things, but it was the first time I saw one!”

My hunch had been right: the Mazoku I’d incinerated in the forest had been sent by Zuuma to slow me down. But can he do that? I wondered. Even for trained summoners, calling out demons is no easy task. Something wasn’t right.

“Whatever,” I said somewhat impatiently. “So, what happened next?”

“He said he wanted our help and waved bags of gold in front of us. Tomorrow, er, today, he wanted us to ambush a group guarding a wagon on this road. He wanted us to separate the wagon from you guys; if the plan went off without a hitch, he said he’d pay us extra.” He sniffled and gazed at us beseechingly. “I mean, he had demons with him! We had to say yes!”

Gourry and I exchanged looks. It certainly seemed like the bandit was telling the truth.

“But he lied to us,” the bandit added quickly. “He said the guards wouldn’t be that tough and we’d have the Mazoku for backup. But you guys were hard as hell, and I didn’t see no Mazoku!”

Zuuma planned to kidnap Radok all along, I thought. No wonder a million things had gotten between that wagon and me.

The bandit clasped his hands together. “You believe me, don’t you?” he pleaded. “You’ll let me go now, right?”

Amelia stepped forward, her fists defiantly planted on her hips. “We’ll be doing no such thing!” she snapped. “Your misdeeds are many! If you think we’ll just let you go, you’re greatly mistaken!”

The bandit wailed. Amelia planted her feet firmly before the cowering man and pointed a condemning finger at him. “Turn yourself into the authorities at the nearest village! If you don’t, we’ll be after you until you do!”

“No!” the bandit cried. “Not payin’ my debt to society! I’ll go straight, I swear! Just let me go!”

“Silence! Even if heaven doesn’t strike you down where you stand…”

I knew Amelia was going to go on like that for a while, so I just ignored her. I had more important things to think about.

Zuuma, obviously, had finally played his hand. The next step would be ours, and it would lead us to the end. Of me, maybe. But I hoped the end of Zuuma.

* * *

Two days later, Gourry and I hiked up a narrow mountainside trail through an empty stretch of wilderness. The sky was overcast, as it had been every day since we’d left Vezendi. I wondered if it was a seasonal thing—or if our luck was just cruddy.

Well, it wasn’t as if we were there to look at the scenery. Gourry and I had a fight to the death to attend.

The path took a turn, and the cabin we’d been looking for came into view. It was a simple log cabin, set back from the trail and shrouded in deep shadow. The original owner must not have liked civilization much—it was the only building for miles.

“Should we head inside?” Gourry asked in a hushed voice.

I nodded. We began advancing slowly, checking every shadow for signs of a trap.

I wasn’t actually too concerned about battling Zuuma. We’d fought him plenty of times before, and he’d never managed to beat us. Plus, I’d been working hard to improve my swordsmanship. I hadn’t had much time to practice, but any new skill might give us the extra edge.

More than anything, though, having Gourry as my ally made me confident of our chances. Gourry had fought Zuuma off almost single-handedly in Saillune; together, there was little doubt in my mind that we could finish Zuuma once and for all.

The problem with my assessment was that it only worked if Zuuma fought us one-on-two. Zuuma was no idiot, so I was sure he’d called the fight because he had nasty tricks up his sleeve. I half-expected a multitude of lesser demons to start raining from the sky.

I would’ve liked having Amelia and Zelgadiss along for backup, but with a hostage involved, we couldn’t mess around. The two of them waited back at Dufon, a small village at the base of the mountain.

There was something else strange about the situation. Zuuma hadn’t just summoned me, he’d asked for me and Gourry. If Radok and I were his true targets, why did he want Gourry to come? Revenge? Zuuma didn’t seem the type to hold a grudge, or even to hold a hostage. Something wasn’t right.

Gourry and I reached the hunting lodge without incident. It was a small, unremarkable building, without any signs of traps that I could see. I detected one presence inside, but only faintly.

“I’ll head in first,” Gourry whispered. He placed his hand on the door and pushed. The door creaked open to reveal darkness; Gourry stepped through, and I peeked around his arm.

The only points of interest in the room were a small fireplace, a small table, and a single wooden chair. Some­one lay on a heap of bedding in one corner.

“Um… Mister Radok?” I called.

The man groggily turned toward us as best he could with his arms bound. Despite the darkness, there was no mistaking him—it was Radok Ranzaad, still very much alive.

I scanned the room again for presences but didn’t sense anyone else. And it wasn’t like there were many places to hide. I didn’t doubt that Zuuma could mask his presence from me, but there simply wasn’t anything for him to duck behind. And I was pretty sure he couldn’t hide his presence from Gourry, anyway.

“What should we do?” Gourry whispered.

“Hold on a sec,” I replied, then quickly chanted a spell.

“Dam Brass!”

BOOM!

I thought maybe Zuuma had hidden himself in the pile of bedding under Radok, but it turned out I thought wrong. All my spell did was blow apart a lot of linen, scatter­ing scraps of cloth and goose feathers all over the room.

Radok thumped against the floor as the bed­ding beneath him disintegrated. He let out a disgruntled moan.

Where the hell is Zuuma?

Right at that moment, I finally sensed another presence—coming up fast behind me. I spun around to face the person I assumed was there to kill us.

I was very, very off.

“Abel?!” I blurted. “What are you doing here?!”

Abel—the young man who was on his way to winning the stupidity award of the year—stopped just outside the entrance, leaning heavily against the doorway. Based on the way he panted, he’d probably run all the way from the village.

Radok weakly craned his head around. “Abel?” he croaked, apparently coming out of whatever stupor he was in.

“Father!” Abel cried with relief, staggering into the lodge.

I stepped aside as Abel rushed to Radok and undid the cords that bound his father’s hands.

“You f-fool,” Radok admonished hoarsely as he shrugged off his bonds. “You aren’t supposed to be here!”

“But I was worried!” Abel complained.

Just as Radok opened his mouth to start another argument, a familiar voice from outside inter­rupted him.

“There you are, Miss Lina!”

Well, we suck at listening to directions.

I turned to see Amelia waving at me as she ran up the path, a bright smile on her face. Behind her walked Zelgadiss, Xelloss, and even Butler Raltaak. My guess was that they’d followed Abel after he’d run off.

I slapped a hand to my forehead. “Gourry,” I said through gritted teeth. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t we tell them to stay put?”

Gourry thought on that for a second. “Um… I think so. But does Amelia usually listen to you?”

“My, my,” came an eerily familiar voice from nearby. “You brought quite a crowd, despite being ordered to come alone.”

I spun around. A white shape, hanging in midair at head height, suddenly released countless black tentacles to whip out in all directions. The tentacles melded together to form an all-too-familiar shape—a hunched, robed body topped with an enormous mass of black hair.

Amelia froze in her tracks. “Gduza?!” she cried out in alarm.

I admit it was baffling. I was there to square off with Zuuma, so why was one of Seigram’s minions there? I already had one fight-to-the-death appointment that day; you can’t just go canceling those things!

“Well, well,” said another voice from somewhere in the woods. “Looks like we’ve got quite a party going on. “ Dugld slowly and deliberately stepped out from the forest. He nodded at Zelgadiss.

“We meet again, eh, Chimera Boy?” he called as he tipped his stupid floppy hat in greeting. “I wish I could tell you I came here to exact revenge, but calling this mess ‘revenge’ would be giving it too much credit.” He sighed. “Let’s end this already, Raltaak.”

Oh, dear lord. The butler’s behind all this?!

“Wha—?!” Amelia, Gourry, Zelgadiss, and I all blurted in unison.

“Mmm.” Raltaak stepped forward calmly. “Indeed, I think you’re right.”

The nondescript butler began chanting a spell under his breath. I could just make out his words through a growing reverberation that filled the air— words unpronounceable to the human tongue somehow spilled from the man’s lips. From the forest surrounding us came the sounds of animals running in panic. A cloud of gnats shot past me with an unnatural degree of purpose.

The animals could obviously sense as well as I could that something very bad was about to happen.

“Ooo… Nnn…”

Believe it or not, those were Power Words. The air around us pulsed, before suddenly—

ZWIIIING!

I cringed as a sharp ringing filled the air. In the forest, where moments before every bird and beast had been screaming in fear, everything fell into a deafening silence.

“This certainly is a predicament.” Xelloss sighed, sounding about as bothered as if he’d stepped in a pile of dog poop. “Things are getting a bit out of hand, don’t you think?”

“It’s much more interesting this way,” Raltaak replied, matching Xelloss’ composure.

What are they talking about?! I thought. And why is Xelloss so friendly with Raltaak?!

The sounds of the forest animals returned, but a creepy new timbre to their cries sent ice rushing through my veins. It sounded like the beasts were surrounding our clearing.

I glared at Raltaak. “What the hell did you just do?!”

Raltaak shrugged. “Not much,” he replied. “I simply called on a few low-ranking Mazoku from the astral side to possess some forest creatures.”

Not much?! He’d summoned a small army of demons to kill us, and he considered that “not much”?!

The animal cries turned into demonic roars. Dozens of Mazoku stepped out of the trees; I swallowed and shifted my feet, preparing for one horrific battle.

“Now!” Dugld cried, happily flinging back his cloak. “Let the fun begin!”