"Actually," he had brazenly replied at his last summons "your money Is easily coerced from humans. Not so easily acquired from other mazoku lords. And sometimes easily stolen from various forbidden places with names we shall not mention, eh?" And then he grinned. The Beastmaster had been, fortunately, amused. But her warning still remained. So the two had taken to the great outdoors more often. It allowed for more variation.

Mazoku and Chimera were traveling steadily south-east. The rumors had become harder to confirm, but only because people had become unwilling to talk. This, Xellos had assured Zelgadis, was a sure sign that they were on the right track. After all, if these people were afraid, it was because they knew that there was something to fear. Zelgadis had surprisingly little difficulty in following the mazoku’s logic. He must be growing soft.

The rumors were of a powerful chimera, enslaved to a dark wizard. The poor chimera was rumored to be insanely powerful, and in complete subservience to the dark wizard. Zelgadis wondered if the wizard had made the chimera, or simply enslaved one that he had found. Either way, south-east there was a chimera and a possible spell that could unlock the secret of Zelgadis’ creation.

Zelgadis had given up on a ‘cure’ for his body. He didn’t need one anymore. Xellos had accepted him for what he was from the start, even if the annoying mazoku had driven him crazy since they met. What Zelgadis sought now, was understanding: An understanding of how he had been made. Of why Rezzo had been able to pull off a seemingly impossible feet of magic. In his life, Zelgadis had never met another chimera. He intended to change that.

The two had abandoned their journey to Sierune. They never once considered turning back.

The weather was warmer now. Rain fell in erratic bursts from the spring sky. Rainbows were frequent. Xellos annoyed the hell out of Zelgadis by shouting after them every time "Off to get me lucky charms! Thar be a pot-of-gold at the end of that thar rainbow".

Rolling his eyes in annoyed, grudging amusement Zelgadis replied "What are you? A leprechaun or Captain Ahab? Make up your dialect." Xellos pouted.

"You’re no fun at times." And then he pounced, knocking Zelgadis off the road, flat on his back in the wet emerald grass. "Make it up to me."

"Now? Here?" Zelgadis stammered.

"Why not?" Mazoku logic.

So Zelgadis did.

***

For the next three miles of their journey, any travelers passing wondered what the strange young priest, traveling with a masked shaman, could have been smiling about. They had never met anyone who could smile and whistle at the same time before.

***
 
 

"So this is the place we have been looking for?" Xellos looked around, unimpressed. He could barely sense any magical energy in the air at all. Either there was none, and this journey had been a fun, but wild, chimera chase, or the magical energies were being suppressed. And that meant things could get a lot more interesting very quickly. "Not much to look at, is it Zel?" The mazoku glanced over his left shoulder to where the chimera stood, looking around the town square for any indication that something was not quite peachy.

Zelgadis came to stand beside Xellos, and the two began to walk towards a café, more out of habit than hunger. "Let’s see if we can stir things up a bit, shall we?" Xellos looked at Zelgadis, astonishment clear in his features. That was definitely not like the chimera. Grinning under his cowl, Zelgadis hooked his right arm into Xellos left, and the two entered a small café just off the left of the city’s central square. "Just think about it." the chimera said as they took a table for three in a back corner. "If there is a chimera here causing problems, then how do you think these people" he gestured to the dozen or so inhabitants of the café, "Are going to react if I take down my hood and pull off my cowl?" Xellos understood perfectly. He was simply surprised that the chimera had thought of this plan as well. Oh well. Looks as if he would have to find some other way to torment Zelgadis today.

Zelgadis ordered a coffee and Xellos ordered a hot chocolate with whipped cream from a tall brunette that bore an uncanny resemblance to Lina. The two then leaned back in their chairs to wait for their drinks. Each took the opportunity to eavesdrop on the other clientel.

"I’m telling you, it was this big! And she let me touch it! It was amazing I tell you. You’ve got to try it"

"And so I says ‘Phibby, you’ve got to take the bull by it’s bleeding nose ring and get this thing over with.’ And he rolls his eyes all mature like. And I says ‘Now that’s enough of that young man. You are not the boss of this household. What I say, goes. Now git to it’. You have to know how to handle these youngsters."

"Don’t never touch that crazy waitress. She’ll as soon chop your hands off and impale you balls with her hair clips."

"That bad eh?"

"Worse bye. Worse. Never seen anything so pathetic in my life. There was hardly enough left to bury." Both Xellos and Zelgadis turned their ears to that conversation. The man, a peasant in his late forties by first estimate, was slumped over a table. Two others were sitting with him. One man, a dark, short fellow, was standing off to the side, but was obviously a part of the group. The man continued. "God awful. Just pieces. Pieces. I never saw nothing like it before. Never want to see anything like it again." A murmur went through the three other men, agreement. Each sorry for what their friend had seen, each glad that it had not been them that had made the gruesome discovery.

Suddenly, the man broke down enough to let a sob escape his cracked lips. "That bloody monster. That bloody, god-forsaken, monster. How could anyone do this? How could anyone . . . " He sobbed again as the others reached out to quiet him. The short, dark man turned towards the door.

"I will make my report to the King now. Are you sure you have told me everything?" At this, the peasant man nodded mutely. "Very well then. The Royalty will be relieved to know where their daughter is, finally. Thank you for your honesty Reuben." Again, the man nodded, tears running in the grooves of his much weathered face. The short, dark man, exited the café as the tall brunette brought Zelgadis and Xellos their drinks. Xellos sipped his immediately. Zelgadis waited a few moments more, for things to settle down a bit. When Xellos kicked him under the table, Zelgadis realized that he may as well start trouble now, while it was already fresh stirred. Removing his hood, Zelgadis noted the sudden silence in the café. Brazenly, he removed his cowl with a smile, aimed at Xellos. But the mazoku felt the fear in the chimera, and saw a glimmer of it dance in the chimera’s eyes.

The café was as silent as a church on a Saturday night.

Xellos leaned in to whisper into Zelgadis’ ear. "It will be alright. I will protect you if I have to." Zelgadis grinned.

"Thanks for the offer, but I believe I can hold my own against a few farmers." he replied.

"Sure, but do you really want to fight these people?" And Zelgadis had to admit that Xellos had him there.

The peasant man that had made his testimony to a higher authority, stood up and began to cross the gap that separated the two tables, a distance of some ten feet. The tall waitress watched this with care, not yet moving. When the man was within four feet, Zelgadis decided to look at him directly, no longer pretending to ignore his presence. Xellos sat back and fell silent. Face unreadable, even to the chimera. The man stopped directly in front of Xellos, eyes cast down to his left, gazing at Zelgadis. "You. . ." he began, stopping when his voice broke. Regaining his composure, he began again. "You . . . You’re one of those things aren’t you?" Zelgadis decided to play Gourry.

"What things?" he asked, as innocent as a child. The man continued to stare.

"One of them ki-mare-ah’s, ain’t you?" Glancing at Xellos, he re-directed his conversation. "You his master?" Xellos nearly choked on his hot chocolate. Zelgadis looked at the man and spoke for himself, frowning dangerously.

"No man is my master. No monster either." he added quickly, seeing a glimmer of mischief in Xellos’ face. "What makes you think that I would have a master?" Zelgadis’ unfriendly tone was not as much an act as he would have liked.

"Well, the other one’s got one. I just figured that maybe all of your kind had someone to answer to."

Zelgadis was momentarily stunned. Or so the man believed. "My kind?" He said. "As far as I was aware, I was the only one of my ‘kind’ that existed." Here he paused for a sip of tea. "Or are the rumors true?" The man stood shakily on his feet. Uninvited, he pulled the extra chair out from the table and sat down, sitting across from Zelgadis, who was still glaring at him. Wiping his face with his hand, rubbing a cold sweat around, the man eyed them both cautiously.

"Well," he drawled "That depends on what you’ve heard, I guess. Want to go first, or you want me to spill the beans?" Zelgadis and Xellos exchanged a glance. Xellos rested his mug on his saucer, and leaned in, taking control of the conversation.

"We are from the north. Although we travel quite extensively, we have never been to these parts before. There was never any need. Recently, we heard rumors of a chimera in these parts. One who has been enslaved to a dark wizard. Does this seem true to you?" The man nodded his head. "Well then, what else do you know?"

"About what?" He was picking absentmindedly at his hands. Xellos frowned at him. The man shifted nervously in his seat.

"About the chimera." Xellos said, a whisper of danger in his voice.

"Well, you see. . . It’s kinda difficult to explain. Maybe. I’ll take my time." Turning to eye Zelgadis, the man continued. "Might make more sense to you than it does to me."

Leaning back into his chair, the man began his tale.