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Birth Rite	By : tsutsuji Category: +S to Z > Slayers Views: 6413 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Slayers, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 15
- 16
- 17
Title: Birth Rite Chapter 16: The Library of the Asmalaths
EDITED - several changes made to the end of the chapter (as of 3/29/2010)
Author: Tsutsuji
Fandom: Slayers
Pairing: Xelloss/Zelgadis
Rating: NC17 overall / This chapter PG
Warnings: nothing to warn for in this chapter (aw, darn)
Length: around 5000 words
Chapter Summary: In which Melly is boring, Shuno is a dork, and Xelloss almost gets to destroy a Follower of Shimer, only - not quite.
---

The only thing that kept Zelgadis awake during Melianthus' tour of the mansion was the prickly sense of Xelloss' eyes following every move.

The ancestral home of the Asmalaths was even more of a rambling maze of rooms than it appeared from the outside. Zelgadis tried very hard to listen to Melly's description of the building and all its former inhabitants and illustrious visitors, but the rambling tour-guide monologue was about as interesting as a grocery list. Even thought the words hardly made any impression on Zelgadis' mind, he was intently aware of Melly's hand upon him nearly every moment as they wandered through the place: a touch on his elbow to guide him around a corner; fingertips on his shoulder as Melianthus described some point of family history; a hand lightly pressed against the small of his back as they walked down a dim corridor.

But it was not actually Melly's hand that he felt; the moth-flutter touches were far too light for him to even notice them on his stone skin. It was the force of Xelloss' hooded gaze on each and every spot where Melianthus touched him that he felt as intensely as the heat of a Flare Arrow. Xelloss said nothing as the tour continued, however, except to murmur with mild interest at a few of Melly's comments. He followed along half a pace behind them through the dim and dusty corridors, as placid and mild-mannered as the human priest he pretended to be.

Zelgadis couldn't decipher Xelloss' mood; he thought he sensed a flicker of the mazoku's dark energy in his focused gaze, but it seemed to be tightly controlled, barely noticeable on the edge of his astral senses. He was grateful and a little surprised that Xelloss had not, so far, said or done anything embarrassing enough to get them unceremoniously kicked out of the Mala's family home. Melianthus seemed so unexcitable that he wasn't sure what it would take to fluster him, anyway, but he didn't intend to give Xelloss enough of an excuse to find out.

Of course, there was also the possibility that Xelloss was merely waiting his chance to destroy the entire library when they got to it. Zelgadis found himself hoping that there was not the slightest hint of a Claire Bible manuscript among the Mala's treasures. He was fairly certain that Xelloss did not have orders to merely destroy any magical lore he came across. If he was concerned about anything else that might be hidden away within the Asmalath's household, Zelgadis couldn't imagine what it could be.

Surely, he thought, Xelloss didn't think he needed protecting from this colorless young lord of the manor! He was probably only irritated that Zelgadis' attention was distracted away from him once again, unless, perhaps, the mazoku's glare meant that he'd sensed some actual emotion behind all those fluttery little touches. Zelgadis didn't really care if he did, even if it meant Melianthus' apparent infatuation with him was real - as bizarre as it was to think that anyone besides a mazoku found his horrid appearance attractive.

Zelgadis assumed that Xelloss could tell he had no real interest in Melianthus at all, no matter what he did to make it look like there was nothing more fascinating in the world. Fortunately, Melly didn't seem to notice that they weren't exactly hanging on his every word. He had no qualms about letting Melly think the attraction was mutual if it led him to the library of the Asmalaths. On the other hand, he had a feeling that letting Xelloss think so might be downright dangerous.

Myona trailed along behind them like one of the shadows, gazing around at everything with his huge, dark eyes, and quite obviously ignoring every word that Melly said. Occasionally, Zelgadis caught a fleeting glimpse of Dulcinea or another servant flitting past an open doorway or around a corner. They seemed to take no notice of Melly or his guests, and he certainly paid no attention to them.

Layers of drapery covered many of the windows in the rooms that had them, and many inner rooms had no windows at all, so the flickering candelabra Melianthus carried was the only light. Zelgadis considered casting Lighting, but decided against it; after all, he didn't want to show up his host in magical ability. He soon began to hope that each new corridor would finally lead to the library, but they didn't seem to be getting any closer to it. He wasn't sure if Melianthus was purposefully saving that goal for the last, or if he simply wandered around his vast, lonely mansion as aimlessly as it appeared. In fact, it sometimes seemed as if Melly himself had forgotten the way around his own home. Several times, he wandered into a room and gazed around for a moment at the contents, looking vaguely baffled by what he'd found.

"Ah yes, I remember this!" he would exclaim softly after a moment, or "Oh my, is that where these ended up?" Then he simply left the things as they were and walked away without any explanation.

In what was apparently the mansion's music room, Zelgadis finally paused, letting Melly drift away ahead of him for a moment. Various instruments and pieces of sheet music were scattered across chairs and music stands, as if the players had left them there and rushed off to do something else. Melianthus had hardly shrugged at the disarray in the room, then turned away with his finger to his chin as he peered along the corridor, searching for the next room to take them to. Zelgadis brushed his fingertips along the strings of a guitar that had been left propped against the wall next to the door, wondering who might have played it, and how long ago it had last made music.

They rambled through a gymnasium where fencing equipment and other sporting implements lay scattered around on the floor as if they had been dropped in the middle of a match, then into a sewing room where a dozen shadowy forms stood or leaned against each other, half-dressed in mismatched styles of clothing. It seemed as if everything had been discarded in the middle of a flurry of activity and never picked up again. Zelgadis wondered if the servants were not allowed to clean up the mess for some reason, or if they simply didn't bother since Melianthus hardly seemed to notice.

Melly ushered Zelgadis into another of these rooms, where he stood gazing thoughtfully at a canvas half covered with daubs of paint. After a moment of staring at it, Zelgadis recognized it as a still life, although it was as lop-sided as the flower arrangement Melly had left on their breakfast table. Several other half-shrouded canvases stood around on stands, some with no more than a few vague strokes. Paint had been left drying on palettes next to them, stiff brushes scattered around on the worktables.

Melianthus turned to him and lifted his hand to touch the stiff strands of Zel's hair. Startled, Zelgadis turned to see his pale eyes gazing up, watching the play of light on the wire strands.

"Oh, my, yes," Melianthus mused, tipping his head. "I should really take up painting again, you know. All of these lovely textures and colors... Zelgadis-san, you must sit for me and let me paint you!"

Zelgadis stared back at the Mala's dazed-looking face. The gray-eyed gaze wandered over his hair and down over his shoulders, and Melly's fingertips followed the same trail. He opened his mouth to answer, but he couldn't make a sound. He was startled enough to find out that Melianthus was an artist (or thought he was), but even more horrified at the thought of simply sitting and being looked at so intently for hours, even by Melly's weightless gaze.

"Ah, er," he mumbled.

Melly's brow twitched, a little crease of distress appearing in his nearly expressionless face. Zelgadis steeled himself to face whatever ordeal it might take to keep Melianthus happy and stay in his good graces. With an effort he hoped was not obvious even to the oblivious Mala, he started to force a smile.

"I... " he began.

A crash and clatter from across the room interrupted him. Melly drew back a little and turned toward the noise.

"Oh, my, how clumsy of me!" Xelloss said, hand raised to his mouth. He stood a few feet away, in front of another half-covered canvas. An earthenware vase and a bunch of dead, dry flowers lay shattered on the floor in front of him, knocked from the table at his elbow. "Please forgive me, Melianthus-sama! I was so overwhelmed by all the beauty in this room that I lost control of myself for a moment!"

"Ah, it's nothing, please don't trouble yourself about it, Xelloss-san," Melianthus said, graciously unconcerned. He waved his hand in the air as he turned away from Zelgadis to gaze instead at the painting in front of Xelloss.

Zelgadis thought Xelloss was laying it on a bit thick even for him; at least, he couldn't imagine that even a mazoku would find these paintings "beautiful." The picture Xelloss happened to be standing in front of was partly covered, but what could be seen of it did not look promising. Ignoring the mess on the floor, Melianthus went over and lifted the cloth to reveal the rest of the canvas.

"Oh, yes, that was one of my earliest efforts, but it did come out rather well, didn't it?" Melly said.

The canvas was covered in a swirl of grays and browns, vaguely shaped like a female figure, Zelgadis thought - or perhaps it was meant to be waves on the sea. Or clouds. It might even have been a tree, if he tipped his head to look at it from another angle. Or, just possibly, it was supposed to recreate the dead flowers in the vase that now lay in shards at Xelloss' feet.

He decided it was probably safer not to guess, and just made a general sound of approval.

Melly regarded the picture silently for a moment, tipping his head from side to side and humming thoughtfully. Xelloss beamed at him, his eyes hidden by his too-innocent smile. Zelgadis couldn't decide whether to be irritated or relieved by his interruption.

After a minute, Melly sighed, flicked the cloth back over the canvas, and turned away from it with a shrug. With another light touch on Zel's arm, he drew him toward the door, leaving Xelloss and the half-finished paintings behind without another word.

---

In the wide corridor outside the art room, Melianthus paused with his hand on Zelgadis' shoulder, and directed his attention toward the wall.

Zelgadis felt Xelloss move close to him on the opposite side, near enough that his cloak brushed Zel's arm. A current of muted energy seemed to run through him from the touch, and with a rush of heat, he suddenly thought of what he might have to do later to make up for being so distracted all day. He didn't know how much longer he could pretend to be interested in Melianthus with Xelloss standing this close. But, just as he thought this, he felt the first flicker of genuine interest in something that Melianthus was showing him. His attention was drawn away from Xelloss by the faces staring down at them from the pair of portraits on the wall.

In the painting on the right, a middle-aged woman with narrow, aristocratic features and hair as pale as Melly's sat with her hands folded in her lap. Her dress was of the same colors and pattern as the robes Melianthus wore. Her pleasant, vacant smile seemed to look right past them, and large, gray eyes reflected the light with an empty gleam, like the moon far off in a misty sky.

Beside her in the other painting, a dark-haired man smiled down at them from the gilt frame. His expression was kindly but surprised, as if he didn't quite know how he'd gotten himself into this position but he meant to make the best of it. He looked nothing like Melly at all; there was far too much warmth even in his painted, one-dimensional face.

"Danius and Inclementha, my dear father and mother," Melianthus said, a whisper of a sigh in his voice as he bowed toward the portraits. "I'm sorry you couldn't have met them; I'm sure they would have enjoyed meeting you."

"I'm sorry, as well," Zelgadis said, suddenly feeling awkward. He had never thought to wonder if Melly's parents were still alive. He realized no one else had mentioned them. From the way Melly spoke, he guessed they'd been gone for some time.

"Mother was such a gentle woman," Melly continued, tipping his head as he regarded her with a fond smile. "She died when I was quite young. She loved to travel, but the carriage roads over the mountains are treacherous in the winter months. Unfortunately, my father was not with her at the time, or she might have been saved."

He sighed again, but when Zelgadis glanced aside at him, his eyes were as blank as ever.

"Father was actually the greater sorcerer, even though Mother carried the family line through her mother," Melianthus continued. "He was as fine a healer as this village has seen; he was a teacher at the Temple when he met my mother. He saved many lives, even at the risk of his own. Unfortunately he could not save himself. He died while he was trying to heal others in the midst of a terrible epidemic, almost ten years ago now. Grandmother Lamiantha always said that he was a proud addition to the family's legacy, even though he was not of the Asmalaths. Sadly, she outlived them both."

"I remember your grandmother," Myona said softly. Startled to hear him speak, Zelgadis and Xelloss both turned to him. He looked as surprised as they were. His hand flew up to cover his mouth, but he continued, murmuring as he gazed up at the portrait of Inclementha. "She was pretty.... she came to the Temple after my father died, and my grandmother took me to visit her once..."

"Ah yes," Melly said, still gazing up at the portraits. "I think they used to be friends, the High Priestess and the Mala of their day. They both lived a very long time, and when they both passed on a few years ago, an era passed away with them."

Myona bit his lower lip and said nothing more. Melly turned away from the portraits. With his hand once again on Zelgadis' arm, he gestured toward a set of double doors at the far end of the corridor.

"And this is the library," he said.

---

Zelgadis' first step into the library of the Asmalaths brought Xelloss out of a sort of daze he'd been in since entering the mansion. The chimera's reaction was stronger than anything he'd felt from him since Myona had arrived with his coffee that morning, and for a moment, Xelloss just stood there in the doorway behind him, savoring it. Zelgadis took a step forward as if entranced, all else around him forgotten, including - Xelloss could not help noticing - Melianthus. He had finally stepped out of reach of the Mala's ever-lingering touch.

Xelloss had hardly even needed to watch Melly's hand on Zel's shoulder, on his arm, always on his chimera somewhere as he lead them through the mansion. It was as if he could feel it, even though he suspected Zelgadis hardly felt it himself, and even though he could feel absolutely nothing else from Melianthus at all.

He had rarely met a human who was as empty of emotional energy as the Mala. At first he thought Melianthus' emotions must be shielded, or skillfully subdued as a few sorcerers or someone like Myona were sometimes able to do. But after a few minutes in the Mala's presence, he was certain that the man simply felt almost nothing. To a mazoku's senses, he was nearly invisible. That alone had been interesting enough to keep his attention for a few minutes after they first met, but really, he was simply too boring to study for long, so Xelloss had quickly brought the conversation - such as it was - around to the reason for their visit, the records of the Skye sorcerers that might exist in the Mala's library.

He had immediately regretted it. Even if Melly had almost no feelings, obviously he had the capacity to be interested in something, or in someone; specifically, he seemed fascinated by the stone-skinned sorcerer-swordsman, or at least, as fascinated as such a spiritless person could be.

Xelloss had been shocked when Zelgadis didn't shy away from the Mala's touch, when he didn't so much as blush under Melly's doe-eyed gaze. He'd been even more startled by his own reaction. Too startled to move, almost, when his chimera had practically taken Melly's hand and let himself be led around the entire mansion. Caught between a strange desire to act and a distinct lack of any justification for doing anything, all he could do was follow them, baffled by a screaming sense of the need to protect Zelgadis even though there was clearly nothing to protect him from here. The Mala was so harmless as to be barely noticeable, and there was no sign or sense of any other sorcery within the Asmalath's mansion. It was hard to imagine that there ever had been.

Expecting Zelgadis to shrink away from the attention at every turn, it should have been a relief to finally feel the flutter of dread from him at the prospect of having his portrait painted back in the art room. Xelloss had no idea why he'd felt the need to act at that moment instead of savoring it. There was really no reason for him to want to get Melly's attention off of Zelgadis - or Zelgadis' off of Melly, for that matter.

He was, inexplicably, even more thoroughly relieved by Zelgadis' reaction to the library, even though the emotions he sensed could hardly be called negative. He watched Zelgadis' eyes widen, glittering like blue crystals, as he gazed up and around at the book-lined walls. The chimera's surge of anticipation entirely drowned out Melly's presence, making the Mala even easier to ignore than he was naturally.

Of course, this fascination with a room full of books meant that Zelgadis was also ignoring him, just as he had been since arriving back in Mystport, but, Xelloss decided, as distractions went, this was definitely an improvement. In fact, the chimera's excitement now was almost as arousing as the usual dark emotions that he enjoyed so much. He thought he might just have to indulge Zelgadis in this library-lust a little more often.

It was easy to see why Zelgadis was so excited. The Asmalath family's library was larger than Xelloss had expected, certainly larger than any other room in the mansion. The walls were lined with shelves thoroughly jammed with books, scrolls, and chests of unbound papers. Rows of book stacks stretched to the far end of the room, also full to overflowing. Stairways at either side climbed to a mezzanine level that ringed the room with even more shelves, all full of bound volumes and loosely bundled manuscripts, stretching up into the shadows near the ceiling high above.

Rectangles of light from high, narrow windows fell across three tables in the middle of the room. Most of these were strewn with a mess of papers, piles of books and writing implements, but unlike the abandoned jumble of objects in other rooms, these appeared to be in use. Zelgadis started out of his ecstatic reverie at the sound of papers shuffling, and blinked, frowning, as someone appeared from behind a stack of books at the far end of one of the tables.
~~~

"Ah, Shuno-kun is here," Melly said. "You've all met already, of course."

"Yes," Zelgadis muttered. "Briefly."

Xelloss grinned at the little pang of irritation that came from Zelgadis when the pale scholar came around the tables toward them. That was a nice, familiar improvement, too.

"No doubt he'll be glad of another opportunity to discuss your 'hardness factor,' Zel-san," he said cheerfully, and grinned even wider when Zel's cheeks turned bright red as the words sank in.

But this time, Shuno looked past Zelgadis as if he wasn't even there. Instead, he came directly over to stop in front of Xelloss, ignoring Melianthus as well. Puzzled by this, Xelloss was about to greet him when Shuno suddenly held his arm straight out in front of him, leveling his fist toward Xelloss' face.

Xelloss stared at Shuno's clenched hand hovering a few inches in front of his eyes, wondering if there was something in particular he was meant to notice about it. It looked like a perfectly ordinary fist, as far as he could see, aside from being as pale as parchment. At the far end of the arm it was attached to, Shuno frowned, his eyebrows twisting like question marks.

Shuno turned his hand over, and only as he drew it back did Xelloss notice the wide leather band binding a large, clear, polished crystal to his wrist. A speck of darkness floated in the jewel's depth as Shuno held it up before his eyes.

Xelloss heard Zelgadis draw a sharp breath and felt rage crackle around him, even before his own sense of fury and alarm flared up. He had half forgotten that Zelgadis had seen one of the mazoku-detecting jewels of Shimer in the Great Hall of the shrine; clearly he recognized it now. The chimera's hand went to his sword, but Xelloss stepped in front of him, quickly drawing power from the astral plane into his physical form. He was as elated by the anticipation of using it on something as Zelgadis was about finding the library - even if that something was not the Mala.

But unlike the jewel Zuller had worn in the shrine, this one remained clear; the tell-tale swirl of blackness did not spread through the crystal on Shuno's arm. The small black speck had already dissipated. Shuno shook his wrist, scowled at the clear stone, then looked up and squinted at Xelloss.

"Are you sure you're really a Mazoku?" he said. He gave Xelloss a quick look up and down, gave the jewel another shake, and shrugged. "Huh. Apparently not."

He turned away, dismissing Xelloss entirely, and turned his studious gaze on Zelgadis again after all.

"I wonder what the percentage of increase in capacity would be? I don't suppose it's proportional; that would have been difficult to regulate during the chimerical process, although it's theoretically possible..." he muttered away analytically, just as if the chimera in question was not actually standing there glaring at him, sword in hand.

Xelloss heard a choking sound from Zelgadis, and the soft slap of Myona's palm hitting his own face. But inside himself, something seemed to snap.

"Not..." he echoed, shocked beyond thought. "Not a mazoku...."

The instinctive desire to destroy something surged within him. It didn't even matter any more if there was a threat to justify it, or if it matched his orders to do so. He only knew he had to annihilate this annoying speck of a human before him. If nothing else, he thought, it would certainly prove that he existed.

Black energy flared around the edges of his human form, gathered by the force of his will and ready to strike. Solid reality seemed to dissolve. His senses converged on the glorious darkness of spirit, and bore down on the feeble spark of human life fluttering in front of him...

"Xelloss! No!"

Zelgadis' voice cut through the ecstatic rage that enveloped him. Rough, stone-strong arms pulled on his physical body, yanking him back to full awareness.

Zelgadis anchored him in place, with his arms clamped around him from the side and a tendril of his spirit reaching around his to try to hold him back on the astral side as well. He felt the chimera's breath on his face, the weight of his body holding him back from Shuno. The lovely, dark swirl of the Zelgadis' emotions grabbed his senses.

"Not now!" Zel's voice rasped in his ear, a harsh whisper. "Not for this!"

Xelloss went still, just puzzled enough to listen. Why would Zelgadis care to stop him from destroying a Follower of Shimer?

"He's not one of them," Zelgadis murmured. "Don't waste your power on a fake, Xelloss. Save it for the real ones. That's what we came here for, remember?"

Xelloss snapped his head around to stare at Zelgadis as the words sank in. Once again, it seemed, he had forgotten that Zelgadis' true goal in coming here was to help him eliminate the Shrinekeepers of Shimer. His lust for that vengeance captivated Xelloss, just as it had when Zelgadis had recognized Marcus at the Gate. But for now, Zelgadis simply let that desire simmer, fueled by the hope of what he might find here in the library of the Asmalaths that would make their eventual defeat of the Shrinekeepers even more sure and sweet.

For that vengeance, Xelloss realized, Zelgadis was even willing to be stared at and fawned over by Melly, or studied like a schoolboy's science project. Or even willing to risk his stone skin by grabbing a high powered Mazoku on the verge of an all-out attack.

Abruptly, Xelloss shuttered his power. Relief flashed in the chimera's crystalline eyes, and a little smile pulled at his lips. He leaned in closer, resting his cheek against Xelloss' hair.

"Besides," Zelgadis went on quietly, with a puff of a sigh as if he was catching his breath. "If you don't mind, for once I'd like to see if there's anything of value here before you incinerate everything!"

He managed to turn the last words into a growl, with a little bit of old, familiar anger behind them, but Xelloss guessed that he was calling it up on purpose to assure his full attention. And perhaps, he thought suddenly, to distract himself. Underneath the anger and the relief there was something that felt suspiciously like desire of a more mundane sort. Tendrils of the chimera's astral spirit still curled around his, gently probing at him as if seeking the power he'd sealed away again.

Anyone else, any ordinary human, would have been soul-singed by the proximity, but somehow, instinctively, Zelgadis had shielded himself from the force of it. Xelloss almost winced at the irony; for weeks he'd been trying to teach Zelgadis how to defend himself on the astral side, and now he'd done it without even thinking in order to save Shuno - and the library. They were going to have a serious talk about this! But it would have to be later. He certainly wasn't about to discuss astral magic theory in front of Shuno.

He had thought his life would be so much simpler when Zelgadis had announced he was going to align his own quest with Xelloss' mission, but he was starting to realize that simple did not necessarily equal easy. The natural urge to destroy something, or at the very least, to stir up some entertaining chaos, was still at odds with the necessity of duty. Since helping Zelgadis find more powerful magic was part of his duty to protect him, it was also his duty to protect the library and to make sure Zelgadis had access to it for as long as necessary. That meant that, for the time being, he was just going to have to quell that urge and tolerate Melly's fawning over the chimera and Shuno's schoolboy experiments.

It also meant that he was going to have to do something he'd never expected to do: sit back and watch while Zelgadis explored a library full of magical lore to his heart's content.

--
Still twitching inside with the effort to not destroy something after all, Xelloss looked past Zelgadis' shoulder to see Shuno sprawled back against a jumbled shelf of books and manuscripts. The boy clutched his wrist, fingers clenched around the leather band and the Shards of the false Relic. Xelloss vaguely remembered smashing them with his staff, without even thinking about it at the time. Dust and loose papers settled around them as the energy he'd nearly unleashed withdrew from the physical plane. Wide green eyes stared up at him, unblinking, glassy with wonder. In spite of that, Xelloss was disappointed to notice, only the tiniest twist of actual fear trickled from him. He'd probably been too busy theorizing about his own imminent destruction to actually worry about it.
Zelgadis breathed another sigh of relief and stepped back, although the touch on the astral side slipped away more reluctantly. Xelloss smirked a little at that. He'd finally got the chimera's full attention away from Melly and his library, and back on himself, at any rate!

He knew he shouldn't find that almost as satisfying as destroying something, but he had to admit that it was - almost. Unfortunately, Xelloss realized a second later, he wasn't going to be able to keep Zelgadis' full attention for long.

Melianthus fluttered past them and pulled Shuno upright, brushing dust off of his shoulders. He ignored the small avalanche of books and scrolls that tumbled from the shelves where Shuno had landed, tossed his hair back over his shoulder and turned toward them. It took Xelloss a moment to realize that he was bristling with indignation at them, or as close to bristling as he could get. Which wasn't much.

"Here now, all of you!" the Mala said, waving his hands as if to clear the air of the dust Xelloss had stirred up. "I don't want any fighting in my house! You all have to get along, or else," he huffed, almost pink with the effort to be forceful, "or else you'll just have to leave!"

Zelgadis winced, stiff with panic as the whole library suddenly threatened to slip from his grasp after all. It was hard to imagine Melly actually working up enough energy to throw anyone out of his house, but Xelloss (very reluctantly) agreed that it was better not to give him the excuse, at least not until, as Zelgadis said, they found out if there was anything here that could help their quest.

With an effort of will worthy of a Mazoku of his rank, he stepped away from Zelgadis and called up his friendliest, silliest smile.

"My deepest apologies, Melianthus-sama," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "And to you, Shuno-san. Your experiment startled me so much that I quite forgot my manners!"

"Well, of course it did," Melly said. "I'm sure you meant no harm, Shuno-kun, but really, you must stop springing your experiments on people without any warning! It's rather rude, you know."

"Not to mention dangerous," Zelgadis muttered.

Shuno shrugged, taking little notice of Melly's fussing or Xelloss' apology.

"I can't imagine why those Shimerian idiots needed that jewel anyway," he said. He flicked away a sliver of empty crystal that still stuck to the leather band. "Any intelligent person would know a mazoku when he sees one."

Xelloss guessed that was all the acknowledgment he was going to get; under the circumstances, he supposed it would have to be enough.

Behind them, he heard a softly muttered, "Dork!"

He turned to see Myona roll his eyes at Shuno dismissively, but the boy was shaking; his face was whiter than usual, and his eyes glittered feverishly. He blushed suddenly and managed a weak smile when Xelloss caught his eye. Now that he noticed, Xelloss sensed the rich aura of Myona's terror just starting to fade. It was sweet, but this time it had been genuine. Xelloss was gratified to know that at least one person in the room was suitably impressed by the glimpse of his true power.

As dark as Myona's fear was, however, he didn't find it nearly as appealing as the mix of anticipation and frustration that radiated from Zelgadis. Especially when Melianthus took his arm again and gazed around at the book-lined walls as if he'd never seen them before.

"Now, then," Melianthus said, "you were interested in the family chronicles of the exodus from Skye, weren't you, Zelgadis-san? Let me see. Where would those be, I wonder?"

Zelgadis' long, pointed ears drooped visibly, although Xelloss was certain he was the only one who noticed. It was obvious - as they should have guessed by now - that Melianthus had no idea where to find the chronicle of Skye, even in his own library.

---
to be continued! next: Zelgadis catches a glimpse of something promising in the library, and Xelloss sets Mazoku pride aside to make sure he can get a better look at it.
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