Absolution- Part 1

Xellos laid her gently on the massive bed, her red hair spilling across the black silk like liquid flames. He slowly took in a breath and held it, taking in the sight of her. Very tenderly he reached toward her, fingertips barely even grazing her skin as he brushed a few strands of hair from her face. “Lina,” he breathed, carefully sliding his weight onto the bed beside her. If he had a heart it would have been pounding. Monsters might not be capable of feeling many things, but Xellos was very aware of his anxiety as he gradually nudged nearer to her. After so long there was a certain excitement in being close to her once again, being able to smell her skin and hear the moving of air within her lungs. It was done; the man she loved had rejected her. He would be there to pick up the pieces. His ploy had worked perfectly, after all. It wasn’t that he didn’t want the best for his little girl, but she had been a convenient tool. If the girl hadn’t existed, Gourry never could have been persuaded to let Lina go. As it was, Xellos had played his cards well. He had expected that the swordsman’s sense of duty would take him out of the picture, and he had assumed correctly. Lina was free of Gourry forever, and he would do his best to reclaim his former place. Sighing, he closed his eyes and placed his head between her shoulderblades, pulling her to him as closely as he could and curling his body around hers.

“Xellos, what are you doing?” a cool voice said from behind him, and he sprang off of the bed, surprised.

“Nothing, Mistress. I have just now returned,” he replied, successfully keeping the stammer from his voice.

The Beastmaster raised an eyebrow. “That is very un-Monsterly behavior,” she said softly, walking over to the bed. Lecia was in her arms and the Monster Lord held the child very carefully, every so often giving the baby a little bounce to keep her smiling. Xellos felt mild alarm at seeing his mistress so familiar with his child, but Xellas obviously meant the girl no harm. That surprised him to a certain extent and made him wonder what she was plotting. No Monster Lord had ever treated a human well.

“Forgive me,” Xellos mumbled, bowing his head, but always keeping an eye on Xellas. If she was going to try something to harm his daughter or Lina it was the right moment for it. He certainly wouldn’t be able to stop her, but he might be able to save one of his females. It was becoming more and more difficult to decide where his loyalties lay: to himself and his own desires, or to his Mistress. The vestiges of human will and instinct clung to him still, warring with his sense of history as a Monster.

Xellas leaned over the bed and looked Lina over coldly, reaching down with her free arm and batting away some of the human’s unruly locks of hair. “So this is the infamous Lina Inverse,” she muttered. “This little slip of a woman has singlehandedly destroyed so many of our race.”

“Don’t kill her,” Xellos blurted, much against his better judgment. “Lecia needs her.”

Xellas chuckled, the sound hollow. “Don’t worry, pup. I wouldn’t do anything to harm your offspring. This whole situation is highly unnatural. Monsters have never fraternized with other races. I sometimes wonder if I was mistaken in letting you pose as a mortal so often and for so long.”

“One cannot say,” Xellos said, hoping his tones conveyed the proper respect.

Xellas sighed and bounced Lecia on her hip, the little girl giggling and grasping at the Lord’s filmy clothing. “Well, what’s done is done,” she mumbled. “I will give you until tomorrow evening, then you will have to tend to both your woman and your daughter.”

“Tomorrow? But Lecia-”

“Will be in good hands until then.”

“The underlings will-”

Xellas shot him a cold stare, killing his sentence immediately. “I would not entrust such a treasure to the underlings,” she said stiffly. “I will care for her myself. She is mine, too, after a fashion. What do the mortals call it? Grandmother?”

“Yes,” Xellos murmured.

Xellas glanced at the sleeping form on the massive bed. “You got what you wanted. You have your work cut out for you,” she said with a sniff, and vanished.
Xellos stared for a moment at where his mistress had stood, then turned his attention back to Lina. She would be a handful, that was certain, and he wasn’t sure how she would react to the situation when she awoke. Taking off his cloak and boots, he climbed onto the bed once again and slid over to her. It wouldn’t do for her to awake in traveling clothes, nor did he want the dust of the road in his bed. Sheets of the caliber he had on his bed hadn’t been made in centuries and he didn’t want some mortal mucking things up. He quickly stripped her of her cloak, boots, gloves, and leggings, then removed his own gloves. Tracing the lines of her body, he put his fingers at her throat and slowly began to undo her shirt, exposing the pale, flawless skin beneath. Soon he had her naked except for her underwear, her skin shining faintly in the candlelight. The sight of her conjured up so many intense memories. Flashes of her body arched over his, his mouth on her breast, or watching her chest heave beneath him as he moved against her flashed through his brain, almost making him dizzy. He let his finger trail over the swell of her breast and up to her collarbone. He had almost forgotten how soft her skin was. As a Monster he was incapable of desiring her, but he still recognize beauty when he saw it. Tearing himself away, he went to an armoire and pulled out a white, gauzy sleeping gown, then carefully clad her in it. She stirred a bit but did not awaken, and so he gently slid her beneath the covers. “Sleep well, Lina dearest,” he whispered, letting his hand rest on her shoulder for a moment, then turned away to attend to his plan of action.

Lina awoke feeling oddly hollow, but because sleep still fogged her brain she had no idea why. Blinking in the weak light coming through a pair of open glass doors, she slowly began to realize she didn’t recognize her surroundings in the least. She was in the biggest bed she had ever seen in her life, luxurious pillows and blankets heaped in soft piles around her. Gauzy curtains hung from the canopy of the bed, partially obscuring the room and its dark, tasteful decorations. The tile of the floor was dark marble, short through with iridescent blue veins and polished to an unbelievable shine. heavy furniture stood around the room, lavishly upholstered with expensive coordinated fabrics. Many strange, arcane objects lined shelves and were neatly arranged on tables, and a large fireplace, devoid of embers at the moment, was set in the wall to the left of the bed. From across the room an ocean wind blew in from the balcony through the glass doors, fluttering the curtains, and Lina knew with absolute certainty that she had never been in the room before.

“Did you sleep well?” a silky voice asked from the shadows, and suddenly Xellos’ features were illuminated as a fire flared to life in the large fireplace.

For some reason seeing him sitting there in the stately chair, pointed chin resting lightly on his steepled fingers, destroyed any hope that she might have had that the situation was only a bad dream. It was as if he, with his neutral expression and closed eyes, was the root and cause of her pain. “Where am I?” she demanded, pulling the bed covers up over her collarbones.

“In my quarters,” he replied gently, leaning back in the chair and further into shadow.

She shivered as she looked around, suddenly disturbed by the sinister atmosphere of the room, sharply reminded that Xellos was a Monster and one of the most powerful of his race in addition. No tasteful, luxurious decor could distract her from that hard reality. “I’m on Wolfpack Island?”

He sighed and spread his hands, his long, gloved fingers suspended in midair. “I had nowhere else to take you,” he explained softly.

A snarl ripped across her features and she threw back the covers, leaping from the bed. “Take me home!” she cried, looking around the room frantically. She had to find a way out; this wasn’t where she was supposed to be. She wanted to be home with Gourry.

Xellos hung his head, thick hair obscuring his face, and dropped his hands. “There is no place for you there anymore, I’m afraid,” he murmured.

“Shut up!” Lina shouted, pacing around the room and desperately trying to find her traveling clothes. “This is all your fault!”

“Miss Lina,” he began, rising from the chair.

“Stuff it, you filthy Monster!” she screamed, her search becoming more frantic with each moment that passed. “You probably planned this from the very beginning!”

“I assure you that’s not the case,” he said smoothly, taking a step nearer.

Lina abandoned her search, feeling her chest tighten as tears began to burn her eyes. She couldn’t believe it, she didn’t want to believe it. Desperate, deep sobs began to wrack her body and she sat down heavily on the edge of the massive bed, tears of anger and loss spilling down her face. It felt as if her heart was shattering into a million pieces and falling all around her. Hollow, agonizing sorrow threatened to rip her in two and she collapsed upon the mattress, gripping wads of silken sheets in her shaking her fists.

The bed shifted as Xellos sat down next to her, his gloved hands resting lightly on her back. “Everything will be all right,” he murmured.

Her grief immediately turned to rage and she sat up, knocking his hands away and glaring at him through her tears. She missed Gourry intensely; with their separation it felt as if her heart had been torn from her chest and tossed to wild dogs, and the man in front of her was to blame for it. If he hadn’t come after her, if he hadn’t brought the damn baby into the picture, she and Gourry could have been together forever. A million recollections of Gourry flooded her and overwhelmed her, sending her reeling. It was almost as if she could close her eyes and touch him, but thinking such things made the gap between them almost seem wider.

“Get away from me!” Lina snarled, retreating from his touch as anger and despair battled within her. He leaned toward her again and she sprang from the bed, fleeing until she backed into a table. Xellos stood and took a step forward and she scowled at him, unconsciously reaching up and gripping the ring around her neck for reassurance. The moment she touched it the magic inside the metal flared to life, radiating light from between her fingers. She gasped and looked down, squinting at the light, and then saw Xellos move out of the corner of her eye. A look of terrible intensity passed over his face and he raised a hand, catching the fingertip of his glove between his teeth and savagely tearing it away from his hand. He reached up to his own neck and seized the ring that was the mate to hers, clutching it tightly in his fist.

“Lina,” he gasped, taking a step back as his eyes shot open and his jaw dropped slightly. She thought that she had never seen him so stricken before in all the time she had known him. His body went rigid while his features softened, and suddenly there was an inexplicable pain in his eyes as he reached for her.

“Stay away,” she warned, scrambling backward but blocked by the table. Fear snuck into her heart and joined the anger and sorrow, making even standing upright a nearly unbearable struggle.

“I can feel your pain,” he breathed, his slitted gaze unreadable but like nothing she had ever seen before. “It’s the first time I’ve been able to feel anything since I was turned back.”

“Don’t come any closer,” she hissed, frantic in her need to escape his advance.

“I’m so sorry for your torment,” he breathed, the light pulsing between the fingers of his closed hand. “I never wanted you to be hurt.”

“This is all your fault!” she screamed, suddenly aware of how the ring was beginning to burn her palm. Looking down at the metal in her hand, she realized that despite how she had felt about Gourry she had always kept Xellos’ ring. It was one of her most prized possessions. Well, it must have been what allowed him to find her and ruin her life. She should have thrown him away when she had the chance, before he could come in and destroy everything.

“Please, Lina,” Xellos said, eyes wide open and searching as he moved forward again.

“No!” she moaned, everything too much for her bear. Damn the ring, damn him. She couldn’t take it anymore. Tightening her grip on the ring and clenching her jaw, she yanked with all her might. The links of the ancient orihalcon chain broke apart, the ruptured metal sliding from around her neck and landing at her feet. With a feral yell of pain she hurled the ring against the wall, the amurium making a clear, ringing sound as it struck the floor. The ring around Xellos’ neck went ominously dark and she glared into his face defiantly.

What she saw there deflated her even further. His face seemed to crack and an odd gleam came into his eyes, the previous softness completely banished. He shook his head, his glossy hair hiding his features for a moment, and took a step near her. “I would take away your pain, if I could.”

“You Monsters get power from pain,” she hissed, desperate to find a way to stop his advance. Rage burned through her, and she found she wanted nothing more than to rip him to shreds and make him atone for what he had done to her life. The last thing she desired was to feel his touch upon her or hear condolences in his voice.

“I gain nothing from your grief,” he murmured.

“Liar!” Lina spat, baring her teeth as her hands groped around on the table behind her. “You’re nothing but lies!”

“You’re the only truth I have ever known,” he replied, continuing his slow advance.

Lina’s hand closed around something and she roared, flinging it before her. Xellos stiffened and shifted backward, narrowly dodging the object she had thrown. She watched his slitted eyes follow the path of the heavy vase she had thrown, the smoky glass of it shattering as it hit the cold marble. He stepped lightly away from the vase shards and gazed at her again, and suddenly it was as if she lost all reason. Bending quickly, she scooped up the largest glass shard she could find and lunged at him as he moved to take her in her arms.

There was a sickening squelch as she drove the glass shard into his body in the soft triangle between where the arm, shoulder, and collarbone met. Xellos grunted against the impact, his expression going blank as his eyes went wide. Black fluid began to ooze onto her hand and she looked at her fingers in horror, staring at where she had stabbed him. Xellos shut his eyes and slowly reached up a hand, gripping the glass and pulling it out of his shoulder with a rough movement. He bowed his head so that his expression was hidden, blood coursing down the fabric of his shirt as his arm snaked around her and pulled her close. The glass shard fell from his fingers and he clutched her to him, burying his nose in the hair at the crown of her head. She stared blankly ahead of her, anger drained away by the shock of what she had done. “Please forgive me,” he whispered into her fiery locks.

Something inside her broke as she felt his warm Monster’s blood soak her clothing. Suddenly it wasn’t within her to hate him, and only anguish washed over her as his strong arms held her close. The slight curve of her ribcage began to quiver as her tears surfaced once again, and there was no more anger, only despair. She had lost her Gourry, her life, and she was barely conscious of who it was that held her as she rested her head against his chest and curled her fists in the fabric of his clothing. “Why,” she sobbed, and continued to weep until her strength left her and she slept once again.

Xellos looked at her as he tucked her in, her head lolling about in her unconsciousness. She had cried all day, the ferocity of her sobs shaking the entire bed. Concern fluttered at the edges of his awareness, but he didn’t know what to do for her. He could remember what despair felt like, and hopelessness. Such feelings had plagued him for quite some time after he had been turned into a human. Lina, however, had helped him through it. Of course, she hadn’t really done it very well, nor had she been particularly kind to him. No, she had abandoned him, but then returned. Her remedy to his sadness had been distraction. He had the feeling, though, that it would not be as easy to distract her. She truly loved the swordsman, and there was precious little he could do about that.

He walked over to the edge of the room, bending and picking up the ring she had discarded. Frowning, he dropped it into a pocket and looked back at Lina’s sleeping form. She had rejected his gift, the gift she had kept for so long. It had been awful, experiencing her pain, especially when he normally could feel nothing at all. Any sweetness he might have derived from her misery was completely obliterated when he became aware of her grief. The emotion was simply too much for him. He went out and stood on his balcony, watching the moonlight flutter across the ocean waves. There had to be a way he could speed along the healing of her heart, but he really had no idea what that might be. Looking around, he wondered if his accommodations might not be too dark for her. She needed sunlight and ocean breezes, not his stately furniture and subdued decor. Perhaps a bungalow just off of the island’s beach would be just right for her. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to try. He would ask his mistress. It was time for him to retrieve his daughter, anyway. No matter how Xellas proclaimed her positive intent toward the child, she still had no inkling of what it was like to be human, and he felt human knowledge was necessary to truly care for his child. Resolve hardened, he transported himself to Xellas’ throne room.

Beastmaster looked up at him as he appeared before her and knelt, Lecia cradled easily in one arm as she suckled a bottle. “Worried?” the Monster Lord purred.

“I know she is in good hands,” Xellos said, belying his distrust.

“The best of hands,” Xellas murmured, tickling the baby with her fingers. Sighing, she tore her attention away from the baby and eyed him carefully, her gaze making his skin tighten with apprehension. “She is entirely too happy, however. Her sweetness has actually made some of the underlings ill.”

“It isn’t my fault they can’t feed off of her,” Xellos said, a tad too sharply.

Xellas raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

Xellos could not keep a scowl from his face. “Lecia is a human, mistress, and therefore is subject to special treatment. My daughter cannot be raised as anything other than human if she is to survive.”

“And if you had not once been human, you would not care if she survived at all,” Beastmaster commented, running a long, tan finger along the baby’s chubby jaw. “Then again, most of our brothers and sisters cannot savor the more subtle of human emotions. Most of them would simply try to terrify her and gain power from that. They don’t understand that anxiety is just as fulfilling and much, much more satisfying. Uncertainty, despair, guilt. . . All of these emotions are just as lovely as blatant fear, pain, or hatred. Your woman, for example, is giving off splendid amounts of negative emotions. Then again, she always has, hasn’t she? Isn’t that partially why you followed her, even when my instructions didn’t expressly indicate you to do so?”

“She’s not my woman,” Xellos said, trying to keep the bite from the tone of his voice.

“My poor pup, if you were just a tad more human than you are right now, I’d even be able to feed off of you. Such behavior isn’t appropriate for a Monster, you know.”

Xellos rose to standing and marched over to the throne’s pedestal, holding out his arms. “Give her here,” he grated.

“Very unbecoming tones,” his mistress replied coldly, her grip on the child tightening. “You should take care in how you speak to your superiors.”

Xellos mastered himself with visible effort. “Forgive me. It has been a difficult day.”

“What else can you expect from a wretched mortal?” she replied. “I pity you your tainted soul, pup. I deeply wish you weren’t so damaged from your time as a human.”

“That makes two of us,” Xellos murmured. “What’s done is done, I’m afraid.”

Xellas sighed and gently handed his child back to him. “You are correct. It is too late. I have done what I could, and I am afraid there’s nothing to do but go on. It is a shame, though, that you fathered this child, that I turned you human. You were the perfect Monster. You had everything.”

Xellos shook his head. Everything for a Monster was far different than everything for a human. He had everything as both a pure Monster and a pure human; now, as a bastard mixture of both, he had precious little that mattered. “Thank you for caring for my daughter,” he said reverently, pressing his daughter to his chest. The little girl squealed and put her tiny hands against his face, her unbelievably soft skin pressed against his cheeks. It amazed him how big she had grown already. Since he and every other Monster ever created had been brought into being fully-formed, he had never really been present for a life cycle before, and he found it fascinating. He wondered what his daughter would look like in another twenty years.

“It is partially my fault that my best minion was spoiled,” she muttered. “If I am to ever fix you I must play the mortal game for a while.”

“Understood,” he said with a low bow, and teleported back to Lina.

When he returned, Lina was lying on her side, looking out the window with blank eyes. She did not respond when he greeted her, not even when he knelt at the bedside. Lecia squirmed in his arms when he brought the two females near, a soft, uncomfortable cry coming from her tiny lungs. Lina shut her eyes at the sound, tears forming at the corners of her eyes and falling onto the sheets. “Hush, hush,” Xellos said, gently rocking the baby as he sat down on the floor with a sigh. The curtains to the balcony fluttered in a nighttime ocean breeze, filling the room with the smell of the sea and sand. Lecia began to cry in earnest, the halting wails shaking her tiny body. “Don’t cry, little one,” Xellos cooed, wrapping some of his cloak around the baby. “Your mother is crying for both of you.”

Lecia began to scream and Xellos quickly went to the balcony, shutting the glass doors that lead to outside. He shifted the baby in his arms, casting a glance at Lina, who had curled in upon herself and burrowed under the covers. From the way the blankets were shaking he could only assume that she had started to cry again. A touch of wetness encountered a patch of bare skin on his wrist, and he realized why his daughter had been crying. Clearing a space on one of the many impeccably-kept tables, he laid out a cloth and put Lecia on it, quickly changing her diaper and replacing her clothes. Lecia was noisy for a little while longer, then settled on playing with the hem of his cloak. Xellos chuckled and cooed at her, igniting the fire in the hearth with a glance. He seated himself in a chair by the fireplace and placed the little girl in his lap, watching with a smile as she sat up by herself. “Such a clever girl, just like your mother,” he cooed, casting a glance toward the bed. He couldn’t make out her features, but a shining in the shadows of her face let him know that Lina was watching him. Well, let her think whatever she would. If she needed time, that was what he would give her. He seemed to have no shortage of it.

He played noise games with the baby for a while longer, delighting as the girl tried to copy the sounds he was making. A laugh escaped him as she moved her mouth helplessly, a tiny scowl on her brow as his words escaped her. After a while Lecia slumped against him, and by her slow, steady breathing he knew she was asleep. He cradled her for quite some time, just watching the rise and fall of her chest, not able to comprehend how something so awe-inspiring could have come from two mortals. It seemed incredible that the little creature he held was somehow a part of him and proof of his union with Lina. His gaze flickered to the bed and he saw that Lina was on her side, her face turned in his direction. She seemed deflated and he wondered if her wounds were so deep that she had ceased to feel altogether. “Do you want to hold her?” Xellos asked softly, looking from mother to child.

“No,” Lina whispered sharply, and rolled over.

He walked down the corridor, holding Lecia upright so she could observe their path. In the past couple of days she had become fussy if he didn’t let her see what was going on in the world around them, and he had finally given in. He smiled and responded to her little noises, nodding on occasion as if he understood her. Perhaps things would change once they were moved into the bungalow. Lina would be away from the darkness of the mountain, and the further they were from Xellas the better he could pretend that his duties lay with his family alone. He was grateful his Mistress had seen fit to grant his request, and he anticipated that only a few more days would pass before it was completed. As he strolled down the smooth stone corridor he became aware of shadows passing by him. It struck him as odd, then he realized that the shadows were underlings trying to avoid his notice. Straining, he tried to hear their whispers.

“He bred with a human,” some said.

“Look at the beastly thing he carries.”

“Humans are better dead than alive.”

“Should we kill the child or the mother?”

“They’re humans. Kill them both.”

Xellos felt pure rage boil up inside of him at the last comments he heard. Anger was not an uncommon Monster emotion, but he had never felt such wrath flow through him in all his long years of existence. He stopped in the middle of the passageway and heard the slithering shadows around him cease movement as well. “Did you think I couldn’t hear you?” he said softly, opening his eyes and looking around, the light reflecting off of his hard, amethyst eyes.

“Master,” a few pleaded, trying to slither away.

Xellos flung a hand aside, unleashing a barrage of black cones and pinning shadows to the stone. Lecia giggled and clapped as rock fragments flew about, the sound accompanied by the shrieking of underlings. “Not only can I hear that you’re there, I can hear what you’re saying,” he continued, walking over to where the nearest shadow was pinned. He reached down and forced the underling to solidify in his grip, the thing screaming as it returned to full physical existence from the astral plane. He smiled and ripped the underling away, taking its head in his hand as he stood. He looked around at the other underlings, who had all gone perfectly still in their attempts to escape his notice, and then slowly crushed the underling’s head with a single hand. The beast screamed and writhed as Xellos squeezed the life from it, a cold smile on his face the entire time. It finally cried its last and he flung it to the side, staring down at the other underlings gathered there.

Lecia squealed and pointed at a few of the trembling shadows, but still the underlings did not dare move. “You will never threaten my family again,” Xellos said softly, his mild expression grossly different from the frozen tones of his voice. He tightened his grip on Lecia and let loose a curtain of black energy, cutting the underlings in half almost immediately. The hall was soon filled with the death cries of Monsters, and Xellos laughed above the racket. Lecia began to giggle and scream as well, and then the deed was finished, leaving only charred marks on the rock where underlings had once been.

“Pretty fireworks, weren’t they?” he said brightly to his daughter. “I’ll wager that our house will be completed much more quickly now.”

Lecia just burbled in reply and blew a spit bubble, her father’s icy laughter accompanying them as they wandered down the hall.

Only a few days later Xellos wandered through the halls of the newly-completed bungalow, examining the workmanship. He reached out a gloved hand and ran it over the smooth surface of the wooden wall, nodding in satisfaction. Lecia fussed from her perch on his hip, and he reached around and tickled her under the chin, making her squeal and laugh. Her baby’s giggles spread throughout the room and a smile crossed the Monster’s face. Yes, this place would do nicely.

“I didn’t know they had it in them,” a silky voice said behind him, and he turned to see Xellas gazing at him.

“Nor did I,” Xellos replied, “But they seem to do well with proper motivation.”

Beastmaster shook her head. “You can’t keep killing them, Xellos.”

“Why not? You can make more...” he thought, then realized with horror that he had spoken aloud. He never made such mistakes; was his human taint making him careless? “Forgive me,” he said quickly, executing the most graceful bow possible while holding a squirming infant.

A scowl marred Beastmaster’s fine features for a moment, then she shook her head. “That was once true, Xellos, but we Monsters grow weak. To produce more underlings now diminishes my power, and that cannot be allowed to happen. Next time, if you truly feel the need to kill something, vent your wrath on our enemies, or at least summon creatures from another dimension. The underlings might be stupid, but they have their uses.”

Xellos let out a breath he hadn’t been aware he was holding and bowed once more. “My deepest apologies, Mistress,” he murmured.

Xellas snorted and looked around, turning to take in every corner of the room. “What’s this?”

“I’m bringing Miss Lina to live here,” Xellos explained meekly. “I believe that fresh air and sunlight will bolster her constitution.” He watched as Xellas wrinkled her nose and squinted, glancing about with an air of distaste. Come to think of it, he rarely saw his mistress leave the comfort of her caverns. For her to make an appearance outside, and in full daylight, was exceedingly rare.

“So these will be your new accommodations?”

“This will be her bedroom,” he said with a nod.

Xellas walked over to a window and peered outside at the beach, watching the waves crash against the shore for several moments. “And your girl-child will live here as well?”

“I think it will be healthier for both females,” Xellos replied.

“Ah.” Beastmaster continued to watch the waves, her fingers idly stroking the fine wood. Eventually she turned to face him, leaning against the windowsill and crossing her arms over her breasts. “I would like you to return to your duties soon,” she said in a low voice. “Even I cannot see to everything, nor can I stop the others from their gossip. Even banded together they could not defeat you, but they can still cause damage.”

Xellos stood silent for a moment, digesting the meaning of her words. “And?” he said, voice almost a whisper.

Xellas shoved herself away from the wall and took a few steps toward the middle of the room. “Just take care you don’t provide them with a reason to believe you a traitor,” she murmured, and was gone.

Xellos stood for several moments, idly letting Lecia play with the hem of his cloak as he thought it over. She was right, soon he would have to return to his tasks, but not yet. Lina would need him, and he wouldn’t abandon her, not again. If he had the choice, at any rate.

Clearing his throat, he stepped into the parlor, casting about for signs of the underlings. “Come out,” he said, tones tired, and suddenly the room was full of grotesque, shifting shadows. He reflected again on how repugnant the underlings were, so base as to barely be able to hold a physical form. “For a job well done,” he said, and granted them just the smallest portion of his power. What was a drop in the bucket for him enabled several of the underlings to take and maintain shape. A few of them began to battle, striving to absorb the other’s energy, but he quickly broke things up. Lecia burbled as underlings squeaked in alarm and scuttled to the edges of the room, cowering from Xellos’ staff as he summoned it. “That’s enough,” he said smoothly. “Now, go and fetch the furniture I requested.”

Soon shadows were moving everywhere, scurrying to and fro as furniture began to appear out of nowhere. Moments later everything was in place, even the gauzy cotton curtains at the windows, and Xellos nodded in satisfaction. “Excellent,” he muttered, turning his attention to the child in his arms. “Isn’t it lovely, little one?” he cooed. “You and Mama will be very happy here.”

“Master?” one of the underlings hissed.

Xellos looked up, eyebrow raised. “Oh yes, you may go,” he said, watching as they disappeared one by one. When they had gone he reached into his leather satchel and pulled out a length of fabric, quickly wrapping it around his torso so that he could carry his daughter on his back. “Let’s go get Mama,” he whispered, and left the physical plane.

He rematerialized seconds later in his chambers, pursing his lips as he saw Lina’s still form in the center of his oversized bed. From where he stood he could see that her eyes were blank, focused on something far away, and her face was stained with trails of tears. Walking over to her side, he sat down on the bed next to her and gently stroked her hair, wishing that his presence would bring her comfort. His Monster’s senses were practically overloaded with the despair she felt, but he could take pleasure in none of it. “Miss Lina,” he whispered, but got no response. “How would you like to live by the beach?”

Lina’s eyes didn’t even flicker, instead staying flat and empty.

“Please,” he said softly, running the backs of his gloved fingers over her cheeks. There was still no reaction. Sighing, he threw the covers off of her and picked her up in his arms, her body as boneless as a rag doll. Lecia made a discontented noise as Xellos’ body lurched, hefting Lina into the air. Lina’s head lolled to the side, her stare staying wherever it came to rest, and if her body hadn’t been warm to the touch, he would have thought her dead. He gathered her close to him, not satisfied until he could feel her heart beating, and looked down into her expressionless, empty face. Gone was the life he had so adored in her when he was human, gone was the spark he had enjoyed as a Monster. The woman in his arms was barely a person, let alone Lina. Had she truly loved Gourry so much? He closed his eyes and pressed his lips to her forehead, leaving them there for long moments. Pain fluttered at the edges of his awareness, and he cursed his deadened emotions once again. “Come back to me, Lina,” he whispered, and set off for her new abode.

Lecia chortled, as she always did, as they rematerialized on the physical plane. He felt her tiny hands hitting his back as she squirmed and a small smile broke over his face. The expression was short-lived, however, for his features fell as he looked down at Lina. Gently carrying her to the bedroom, he set her down on the large, wrought-iron bed he had procured, carefully covering her up with soft cotton sheets. The sunlight filtered through the gauzy curtains and he cleared her hair out of her face. It had been days since she had looked at him and days since she had eaten.

Transferring Lecia to his arms, he looked down at Lina’s pale face. “Are you hungry?” he asked her softly, resting a hand on her shoulder. She did not respond. “Lina?”

Lecia suddenly began to fuss, and he held the baby out at arm’s length, examining her. Her little face turned red and she kicked her legs, her round features twisting and her ribcage expanding as she drew an enormous breath. “Oh no, little one, don’t cry,” he said in alarm, quickly rocking her. “See, Lina? She must be hungry. This is definitely your daughter; she eats all the time.” He smiled and waited, but still there was nothing. Lecia began to cry in earnest, and he took his leave of Lina. Lina, after all, was a grown woman action of her own volition, but he couldn’t very well ignore his poor, helpless, human daughter.

He had spent most of the day trying to coax Lecia into crawling, but she seemed intent on walking instead, although the concept still eluded her. She had managed to find mobility by scooting around on her hands and feet rather than hands and knees, and he had found it quite humorous to watch. He kept her off the wooden floors, fearing splinters, instead keeping her on the area rug. Still, she had been a handful and had tired them both out. Xellos was sorely tempted to retreat to the astral plane for a rest, but he didn’t feel comfortable leaving his baby and her mother alone if he didn’t absolutely have to.

He sighed and started a fire against the chilly night-sea air, throwing a glance at where Lecia lay in her crib, her soft breathing barely audible as she slept. Once the flames in the hearth were going well he went to her side and stared down at her, unable to comprehend how something so tiny and perfect had managed to come from him and Lina. The little girl was a part of him, proof of his existence, and it seemed both strange and wonderful at the same time.

He was still gazing down at the child when a noise caught his attention. It sounded for all the world like glass doors sliding open. He strained to hear, but the sound had stopped. A slight frown twisted his brow, but he dismissed the noise and instead picked up a book, sitting in a chair by the fireplace. He tried to read for a while, but the words kept losing his interest. Something was wrong, he just knew it. Standing, he went over to Lecia’s crib, making sure she was still breathing. Everything was normal there. If it wasn’t the baby, then what could it be?

Sudden realization hit him like a slap in the face and the book slid to the floor from his limp grasp. He hadn’t imagined the noise, he was sure of it. Anxiety gripping his chest, he dashed across the house to Lina’s room, flinging the door wide without knocking. The sheets were thrown back off of the bed and the curtains were blowing wildly in the wind coming through the sliding glass doors at the side of the room. The doors, which opened up on the covered porch, were wide open. Fear clutched his being and he launched himself outside, squinting against the sand in the wind. The moment he stepped outside he could tell that a storm was on the way. He had to find Lina, and fast.

Dashing down to the water’s edge, he found a single footprint, nearly entirely washed away by the wind and surf. He looked around desperately, but could locate no other clue. “Lina!” he shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth. A moment passed, and there was no answer. What could she possibly be doing? “Lina!” he bellowed, and he realized that the possibility of her hearing his shouts over the wind was very slim. With a muttered curse he waded into the water, searching. “Lina!” he screamed again, but no reply came. He was done playing games, he was going to find Lina and he was going to find her right away.
“Lina!” he howled with all his might, rising into the air. He sped along the surface of the ocean, hair whipping in his face. Tireless Monster energy flowed through him, and he went as fast as he possibly could, eyes wide and searching for any glimpse of the sorceress. Rain began to fall from the black sky and obscured his vision further, but still he would not give up.

He flew for a few minutes more, then a flicker of white caught his attention. Veering off to the east, he zipped towards the floating object, avoiding the waves and straining against the violent winds. Oh, if it was her. . . She had to be alive, she just had to. He would accept no other scenarios. “Lina!” he screeched, plunging into the water beside the struggling form.

“Go away!” she screamed, batting him away. “Leave me alone!”

“What are you doing?” he shouted over the wind and rain. “You’re too far from the shore!”

“I said leave,” she snapped, and he wondered for a moment if she had completely taken leave of her senses. The hateful look she threw him was full of pain and slipping sanity. “I want to go home.”

“Home?” he asked, closing his eyes as a wave pushed him under the surface.

“I have to get back to Gourry,” she cried, voice breaking on the swordsman’s name. “I love him!”

“You can’t swim back!” he protested, shaking his head and whipping his wet hair from his eyes. “It’s thousands of miles away!”

“I don’t care!” she wailed, and he could tell even through the poring rain that tears were running down her face. “I’ll do whatever it takes to get back to him!”

“But you’ll die, Lina,” Xellos shouted. “Please, come back with me and we can talk about this.”

“No. You’ve been nothing but trouble since the moment I first laid eyes on you,” she spat, and began to swim forward, her white night dress trailing behind her in the dark water.

“Please,” he begged, reaching for her just as another gigantic wave crashed down upon them. Lina screamed and went under, and when the wave passed, she was nowhere to be seen. “Lina!” he roared, eyes wide as she searched for her. Cold dread clawed its way up his spine and he plunged beneath the surface of the water, peering through the black ocean. It took a moment, but he finally spotted her, her nightgown billowing around her like a cloud as she sank. Her body was limp and he could tell immediately that she was injured. He swam towards her with powerful strokes, wrapping his arms around her as they descended to the bottom of the sea. He crushed her to him and concentrated, then disappeared.

As they rematerialized on the porch he remembered that his powers of teleportation had saved her more than once. It was the first time in a long while that being a Monster had meant anything to him. If he had been human, Lina would have died out in that sea. Of course, if he had remained human, she most likely would never have been in the situation in the first place. Silently berating himself, he ripped the sodden clothes off of her body, then dismissed his own with a thought, leaving her pile of clothing the porch. He stepped through the glass doors, Lina’s body slung across his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and closed the doors behind him. The wind in the room immediately stopped, and he quickly cast a protection spell on the little bungalow. Lina coughed and he lay her down on the bed, rubbing her body to restore warmth. Her skin felt rubbery beneath his hands and he scowled, working harder. “Come on,” he muttered, glancing at her face. Her head lolled about as her body moved in rhythm with his movements, and finally some of her color began to return. He crawled into the bed beside her and pressed his bare body to hers, hoping that he could provide warmth, and pulled the covers up around them. She shivered against him and he held her close, pressing his nose into her waterlogged hair. After a while her shivering stopped and he held her close, listening for danger in her heartbeat and breathing, until finally she slept.

He must have found a way to sleep as well, although as a Monster sleep was usually something he didn’t have to do, because he awoke to the sensation of her clinging to him and sobbing against his bare chest. Her hands were curled into fists near his collarbones and her face was pressed between his pectoral muscles, his skin slick with her tears. Something inside him twisted and he sighed, looking down at her pain-contorted face. “Lina,” he whispered, gently putting his arms around her, then recoiling in shock. Her skin was warm, very warm, and he realized immediately that she had a fever. He gripped her shoulders and rolled her onto her back, kneeling on the mattress beside her as she choked on her own tears. Quickly passing his hands from her forehead to her stomach, he came to understand that her condition was very, very bad. The combination of not eating, cold rain and winds, and lukewarm ocean water must have been too much for her fragile human body. He recalled his clothing to him with a snap of his fingers and hastily dressed Lina in something. Summoning power, he called a swarm of underlings to him and stood in the middle of the room, frowning down at them. “Ice, and lots of it. Go to the north and fill every washbasin in this house with ice.” There were some murmurs, which he quickly quelled by threatening them with an orb of dark energy. “Now!” he said firmly, voice quiet, and the underlings disappeared.

It was then that he heard Lecia crying in the parlor. Xellos threw another glance at Lina, who was writhing slightly in her sleep, then hurried to the wailing baby. He growled to himself as he realized both she and the crib’s bedding were sodden, and she was probably hungry as well. “Oh, my poor little one!” he cooed. “I’m so sorry, your mama was in trouble.” He pressed the baby to his chest and kissed the top of her forehead, the contact seeming to soothe her a little. “There, there,” he murmured, bouncing her lightly as he stripped her crib of bedding with his free hand. He tossed the sheets in a basket and walked her to the kitchen, removing her clothes and setting her down in the kitchen sink. He picked up a bucket and teleported to fetch water, then warmed it with a small spell and poured it into the sink and over the baby. Lecia started to squeal and splash, smiling up at him, and he found it impossible not to smile back, even though he was concerned about Lina.

“Baah!” Lecia cried, pounding at the water with her open hands and completely soaking him.

“That’s not fair,” Xellos protested, answering with his own gentle splash.

Lecia blinked as the small spray of water hit her in the chest, then looked up at him. “Ah?” she said, glancing from him to the water and back again. Xellos cocked his head, unsure what she was doing, then raised a forearm as she began to splash in earnest.

“Oh, so that’s the way you want to do it,” he chortled, readying himself to splash her again when he felt the underlings return. He stood with a sigh and retrieved a towel, gently lifting Lecia from the water and wrapping her in it. She wailed and reached out towards the water, but he shook his head and drained the sink. “I’m sorry, little one,” he murmured. “We can play later.”

He rubbed lotion on Lecia and dressed her as the underlings went about their tasks, cooing at her and tickling her as he wound a cloth around him and settled her into the pouch he had made. It would probably have been easier to just leave the baby with his mistress, but he found that he wanted to be around her as much as possible. When he was with his baby he felt almost natural and normal, instead of the pitiful mixture of Monster and human he really was. Lecia made him forget all that nonsense, as he had to focus on her well-being. She couldn’t do anything for herself, after all.

Then again, neither could Lina, at the moment, he realized as he walked into her room with a snow-laden cloth. Lecia sucked on her bottle contentedly and sighed, not seeming to notice as Xellos eased his weight onto the bed and sat beside Lina. “Gourry,” the woman mumbled in her feverish sleep, and the sound of the swordsman’s name tightened something within him. Would she always call for Gourry, or would she someday cry out for him?

He lay the cloth across her brow, putting another cold cloth on her stomach. He was hoping it would bring her temperature down until he had the opportunity to find medicine. After a while Lina seemed to calm, and he bounced Lecia gently, taking the empty bottle from her. “We’re going on a little trip,” he cooed to his daughter, and left the physical plane.

Lecia giggled as they appeared on the outskirts of the town, the sound of the waves still close. The town actually had a very large and active harbor, and Xellos had long admired the variety of apothecary shops that the community possessed. He reached into the brown leather bag and pulled out a soft cloth ball with a bell inside for Lecia to play with as they wandered, then set off.

An hour later he found a shop that seemed to have a large variety of herbs, although the place was on a nearly-deserted street and the storefront was weathered and worn. He stepped through the door and closed it behind him, his Monster’s eyes quickly adjusting to the dimness within. “Hello?” he called, casting about. Glass jars were everywhere, lining shelves, stacked on the floor, and pushed into corners. No doubt about it; it was the largest supply and variety of herbs he had ever seen in his life, and that was saying a lot. As he looked about he realized that some of the dried plants in jars had gone extinct hundreds of years ago. Most likely the shop owner didn’t even know what they were or what they were used for. As he turned slowly, examining the herbs hanging from the ceiling, he heard a soft noise behind him.

“What can I help you with?” rasped a voice as dry as the plants around him.

Xellos turned and confronted a tiny, wrinkled old woman, her skin so thin that it seemed as if parchment housed her muscles and bones. “I need something that will bring down a fever,” he explained, keeping his eyes carefully shut. Because of their proximity to Wolfpack Island, the humans in the town were keenly aware of Monsters, and he didn’t particularly feel like being discovered at the moment. Hopefully Lecia would make him seem even more human than he usually did.

“Who’s it for? What caused the fever?” the old woman said roughly, eying him with what he figured was suspicion.

Xellos cleared his throat. “The storm last night. . . My wife was at sea and nearly drowned. She had been. . . Well, she had been ill, and hadn’t been eating much. I fear the strain was too much for her.”

The old woman’s tiny eyes looked him up and down. “What was she sick with?”

Xellos’ mouth opened and closed, and for once he was at a loss with an answer. He rarely encountered humans as sharp as this woman appeared to be, and he didn’t know what to tell her. “An ailment of the heart,” he finally replied.

The shopkeeper narrowed her eyes. “The heart? And she wouldn’t eat? What did you do to her, boy, to break her heart?”

He was a little taken aback that she had so easily seen through his half-truth. This woman was not being led where he wanted her to go. “I didn’t do anything. It was another man. I’m trying to pick up her pieces,” he replied.

“Your wife cheated on you?”

“Of course not,’” he said a bit indignantly.

“I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s going on. The emotional state of the patient has just as much to do with healing as the physical state. Spill the beans, boy,” the old woman snapped.

“It’s really rather private,” he said softly, watching as the old woman’s eyes narrowed beneath her bushy eyebrows.

“Is that your baby?” she said, obviously choosing a different direction of conversation.

He relaxed a bit and rubbed Lecia’s cheek with the side of his thumb. “Yes, she is,” he replied proudly.

“Is it your wife’s baby?”

Xellos stiffened. “Of course.”

“She’s not your wife, is she?”

Xellos felt himself pale. “Well, no, not really,” he mumbled.

“Then why did you say she was?”

Xellos’ patience began to leak away. Who was this old woman, to be asking him so many questions? As she badgered him, Lina was burning up at home. He was half-tempted to reveal himself to the old hag and threaten her into helping him. “Because I need to get back to her quickly, and I figured that I wouldn’t waste time trying to explain our situation by just calling her my wife. Is that satisfactory?”

“She really that sick?”

“Yes,” Xellos said, exasperated. “Please, just give me something that will help her.”

“If you and the woman had a baby, why is her heart broken?”

Xellos sighed. “Is it that important?”

“Yes. Even if her fever breaks, I can’t help her get well if I don’t know what’s making her ill.”

Xellos could see the reasoning behind that, and so decided to tell what he could. “A little under three years ago, this woman and I lived together. We were forced apart, and a few months later she gave birth to our daughter, unbeknownst to me. I hadn’t even known she was pregnant. I was taken prisoner after the birth, but as soon as I was released, I searched the baby out, and then the mother. When I found her, however, she had taken up with an old lover, and had told him nothing about me or the child. He learned everything, however, and decided to leave her. He thought it would be best for her to be with me and our baby, and ever since that night she hasn’t been the same. Now, is that enough for you?”

“So she loved you, before you were forced apart.”

“I like to think so.”

“And you loved her? Do you love her still?”

Xellos felt something twist inside of him. He had felt very strongly for Lina when he was a human. He would have done anything for her, would have died for her. Was that love? He knew he didn’t love her anymore; he, as a Monster, was incapable of it. “I think so,” he said. “All I know is that I do not ever want to be apart from her ever again. I want to live with her and our child for the rest of my life. Is that enough for you? Now will you help us?”

The old woman looked at him steadily. “Your woman sounds like what she needs is time and space. If you smother her you’ll never get her back. Even though it might be difficult, you’ll just have to wait it out. Here, take these,” she said, pulling out some compressed sticks of herbs and pushing them across the counter to him.

Xellos picked them up and examined them, then set them back down. “What are they?”

“You can’t just give her medicine and heal her heart, but she’ll do better if she’s relaxed. Burn these in your home, one a day. It will soothe her nerves and clear her head. Hopefully she will then be able to face what has happened.”

“And the fever?”

The woman sighed and pulled out a mortar and pestle, quickly grinding several herbs together. “Give her this in a glass of warm milk. She should be better within forty-eight hours.”

“It’s that simple?”

“Sometimes when the problems are complex, the simplest answer is the best,” she muttered, wrapping everything up in paper.

“You have some odd herbs here,” he said, stroking Lecia’s fuzzy hair as he leaned against the counter.

“This shop has been in my family for generations. No point in tossing anything out, you never know when you might need it.”

“Indeed,” he replied, filing away the information in his brain.

“Your daughter, what’s her name?” the old woman asked, pushing the envelope toward him.

“Lecia,” he murmured.

“Well, she looks jaundiced. You need to take her out in the sun more often. You people look like you’ve been living in a cave. I put something in there for her to help her. Just put it in with her food. I suggest you begin feeding her applesauce.”

Xellos raised an eyebrow and tucked the packet into his leather pouch. “Thank you and good day,” he said, dropping a few gold coins on the counter.

“This is more than those herbs are worth,” the old woman said sharply, eying him.

“The advice was valuable,” he replied, and set out for home.

He did as the old woman had advised, and in two days Lina recovered. Xellos sat in a chair by her bedside, elbows on his knees as he watched Lecia scoot around the room in her curious bear-walk. Lina sighed and woke up, sitting up and putting a hand on her head. “What?” she moaned, blinking into the morning light. “What happened?”

Xellos leaned back in his chair as if he didn’t have a care in the world, resisting the desperate urge to go to her and crush her to his chest. He carefully schooled his features into his customary bland smile and looked at her brightly. “Miss Lina, you nearly drowned in the storm.”

“Storm?”

“The night you decided to swim home,” he reminded her gently.

She looked at him and he watched recollection snap her in two, her eyes filling with tears. “Gourry,” she whispered, looking down at her hands.

Xellos sighed and rose, collecting Lecia. “Mama and I need to talk,” he said to the baby, gesturing at Lina. Lecia looked at Lina with wide eyes, as if seeing her for the first time. She made a spluttering sound and turned back to Xellos, wrapping a tiny fist in his cloak and reaching for his thick, shiny hair with her free hand. “I’ll be right back,” he murmured to Lina, and disappeared.

“She’s awake?” the Greater Beast asked the moment he had fully rematerialized.

“Yes, and I need some time alone with her. Mistress, would you please look after Lecia?” he asked, feeling awkward. Xellas rarely received requests, and granted them even less often. To his surprise, Xellas quickly rose from her chair with a single graceful movement and came over to him, gently taking the baby girl.

“I suppose,” Xellas sighed, and he did not like the way her eyes were gleaming. “She’s entertaining enough. Has she learned any new tricks?”

“She’s crawling,” Xellos replied, pushing away the urge to quickly give his mistress a rundown of what Lecia was and was not allowed to do. “Thank you, Mistress,” he murmured.

“Oh, just hurry up and finish this messy business, will you? The sooner the Inverse woman figures out what’s what, the sooner you can return to work. You know your duties are piling up.”

“I’m aware of that and I apologize. I will do my best.”

“See that you do,” Xellas murmured, tickling Lecia under the chin. The baby giggled and reached for one of the many golden bangles the Monster Lord wore around her wrists.

Xellos bowed deeply and returned to Lina.

When he arrived he went directly to her bedroom, entering without knocking. She sat in the same position she was in when he left her, and he wondered if she would ever heal. He had had no idea that the human heart could be so utterly destroyed by mere emotion. “Why did you swim away that night?” he asked softly, closing the door behind him.

“What?” she asked, wiping tears off of her face with the palms of her hands.

“Why did you run away?”

“I wasn’t running away, I was running to,” she muttered, turning her head to the side.

He stood and simply gazed at her for a long time, the only sounds the crashing of waves against the beach and the occasional bird’s cry. Her hair shone in the sunlight, reminding him of polished copper. She was even beautiful in her grief, the dark circles under her eyes and her hollow cheeks lending her features a certain amount of gravity in his eyes. Still, her hardships and refusal to eat had cost her, and she appeared nothing but a sack of skin and bones as he looked at her. “You were running to home?” he asked, walking over to the bedside.

“Yes. My home is with Gourry.”

“You really, truly want to go home?”

“Yes, I do,” she said, voice breaking on the last syllable as her whole body began to shake. “I want things to go back the way they were.”

“Which way? With Gourry, or before, when we were happy together and had no cares in the world?”

He heard her breath catch in her throat, and she cried quietly for long moments. “Gourry,” she finally sobbed. “There will never be another ‘happy’ for us.”

“Why not?”

“You’re a Monster, Xellos!”

He sat back and looked out the window, wishing that he could explain himself to her. He knew it was futile, however. “And if I wasn’t?”

“You are, and that’s what matters. Oh, why couldn’t you just leave me alone? I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. Why did you have to rip us apart?”

“It wasn’t me, Miss Lina. Gourry’s the one that made the decision, and it surprised me as much as it did you.”

“Please shut up,” she groaned, pulling her knees into her chest and hiding her face in them.

“Do you want me to take you home?”

She inhaled sharply and was silent for a minute or two. “You’d do that?”

“I don’t want you to feel this way. I will do what I must,” he replied. “We can leave as soon as you’ve eaten something.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“You’ll die if you don’t get some sort of nourishment soon. Then you really will never seen Gourry again.”

Again she was silent, then grunted. “Fine. But let’s hurry.”

He nodded and fetched her a bowl of porridge, bringing it to her in bed. “Here,” he said, offering her the bowl. “It’s very warm, and you haven’t eaten in a long time, so please be careful.”

“I know how to eat,” she snapped, taking the bowl in her hands and slowly starting to eat. She choked a few times at first, her body rejecting the food after so long, but then improved.

“What would you like to wear?” he asked, going over to her wardrobe. “I collected a few things for you.”

She glanced up at him but did not answer, watching him as he opened the doors. He pulled out a cotton sundress, blue with tiny little flowers on it, but she shook her head. “How about this?” he asked, pulling out a simple tunic and leggings. She seemed to consider, then shook her head again. “All right,” he murmured, searching through her things. “This?” A green silk tunic appeared in his hands, with a loose collar and no sleeves, matched with a long, fitted skirt of the same fabric. The cloth was dyed in such a way that the intensity of the green changed slightly from place to place, giving it the effect of green sea waters seen through frosted glass. She nodded and he sighed, laying the clothes out at the foot of the bed and carefully picking a pair of matching sandals. He pulled a white cotton shawl out of the wardrobe as well and placed next to everything else. “Of course,” he murmured. “You’ll want to look lovely when you see him again.”

Lina sighed and passed him back the bowl, and he noted with pleasure that she had nearly finished the whole thing. “I’ll dress now,” she said, reaching for the clothes.

“Do you need assistance?” Xellos asked, eying her with worry.

“No. I’ll call for you when I’m ready to leave,” she replied sharply, and he left the room, waiting outside the door until he heard her give the signal. He entered again, pausing for a moment as he saw her sitting on the edge of the bed, obviously tired from the effort of dressing herself, but determined nonetheless. Her fiery hair spilled down her back in unruly waves, and she looked absolutely breathtaking, the light green silk clinging to her slender frame in just the right places.

“You look stunning,” he whispered, walking over to her. “Can you stand?”

“Not for long,” she admitted angrily, refusing to look into his face.

“I understand,” he replied, feeling her body stiffen as he took her into his arms. “Let’s go visit Gourry, shall we?”

“Hurry,” Lina said, and they were off.

He knew what they would find before they arrived. It wasn’t his style to let information pass him by, and so he had set a few underlings on the swordsman. Yes, what they found was of no surprise to him at all, but he could tell it wasn’t what Lina expected in the least.

When they appeared on the lawn of the manor house, the windows were dark and nothing moved save the winds through the tall grass. The estate was perfectly silent, the shutters of the house closed and the fence locked. “What happened?” Lina breathed, looking around.

Xellos walked over to the front door and set her down, letting her lean against the doorframe. “There’s a notice,” he pointed out, watching her as she read it.

“It says that those who have business with the Gabriev estate need to take it up with someone in town,” she murmured. “What happened here?”

“What’s the address?” Xellos asked. Lina told him and he nodded. “I’ll be right back,” he said, and disappeared.

He returned a few minutes later, shaking his head. Lina pushed away from the wall and clutched at his cloak for balance, looking up into his face with fear written across her features. “What is it? Is Gourry all right? What happened?” she demanded, ruby eyes wide.

“He’s gone, Lina. He set out on a journey a while ago. It seems that he has moved on.”

“He’s gone? He left?” she whispered, desperation settling in her eyes.

Xellos sighed and nodded solemnly. “He has his own life, Lina, and doesn’t intend that you be part of it,” he said as gently as he could. “He has moved on, and most likely wants you to do the same.”

“But this was our home!” she cried, tears forming in her eyes. “How could he just leave it?”

Xellos shook his head. “Because that part of his life is over, Miss Lina. He has put it behind him and started something new.”

“Without me?”

“Without you.”

“No, no, no!” Lina said, and collapsed against him in tears. Her sobs were muffled by the fabric of his cloak, but he could feel them rippling throughout her entire body. He put an arm around her and stroked her hair with his free hand, letting her release all her pain and disappointment.

After what seemed like an eternity, she began to slump against him, and he could tell that her strength was almost gone. “Would you like to go now?” he whispered gently. He felt her nod against his chest, and so he once again gathered her into his arms, taking her back to their home.

Once there, he put her back to bed and sat with her, stroking her hair as she buried her face in the pillow and cried. “Poor dear,” he murmured. “I’m sorry you have had to feel so much pain for so long.” He truly wished that there was something he could do for her, and then remembered the herb sticks the old woman had given him. Perhaps they wouldn’t cure her of her heartbreak, but at least they would help her calm herself. She needed time, he told himself, and if there was one thing he had, it was time.

Lina woke up slowly, the sensation more like she was surfacing than waking, and spent a long time simply staring at the ceiling and feeling the hollowness within her. Her eyes felt dry and cracked from her many hours of weeping and her body was heavy like lead. It was as if the mattress beneath her was sucking her against it, and she had no inclination to struggle. The sound of the ocean and the warbling of birds floated in through an open window, and somewhere within the house came a baby’s laugh. She sighed and rolled over, watching the ocean through the glass doors at the side of the room. The sky and water were beautiful shades of blue, the ocean tending towards green as it came closer to shore, just the color of Gourry’s eyes. Gourry. Her exhaustion was so great that the tears would not come at the thought of him, leaving her with a dull, deep ache in the pit of her. He had done what he thought was right, leaving her to raise her child with the man she had conceived the child with, a man who was no longer human. A hand snaked up around her neck to grasp at the ring she always wore there, but her fingers closed around emptiness and she remembered that she had thrown the gift away. Gourry had always asked about the ring but she had never revealed anything about it, simply saying it was worth too much to just leave lying around. Now that the ring was gone, she found that it was important to her, that the things it represented were important to her.

Another baby’s giggle resounded throughout the house, followed by the deep, silky tones of Xellos’ voice. He was trying to be sweet, but he was no Gourry. Every time she had looked into Gourry’s eyes she had known that he loved her to the very core. She couldn’t bear to look into Xellos’ eyes, not only because they weren’t Gourry’s, or because they held no love for her, but also because they weren’t the same as they were when he had meant something to her.

Her thoughts had returned to her days with the blonde swordsman by the time Xellos bumped open the door with a hip, the baby strapped to his chest in a sitting position and a tray in his hands. “Good morning, Miss Lina,” he said gently, walking over to the bed. She did her best to ignore him, but it was somehow nice to not be alone, even if her companion wasn’t human. Giving up, she rolled towards him, and her eyes met the baby’s. The child’s eyes were exactly the same as human Xellos’ had been, and something inside her twisted.

“Baaaah,” the baby said, reaching out a chubby hand.

Xellos smiled and set the tray down on the bedside table. “That’s right, Lecia, say good morning to Mama,” he murmured, and the baby gurgled happily and reached out to her. He glanced at Lina and his expression softened even further. “Would you like to hold her?”

“No,” Lina replied, watching as Xellos’ expression stayed the same. Well, to someone who didn’t know him as well as she did, it would have appeared to stay the same, but she could tell that it tightened and was costing him some effort to keep it on his face.

He seemed to accept her words, and he nodded his head slowly. “Very well,” he murmured. “How are you doing today?”

“BAAAH!” Lecia squealed, kicking her legs as Xellos leaned forward.

“Oh my,” Xellos sighed, sitting up again and glancing about. He moved a few vases to higher positions, and made sure that nothing could be tuggable, then unwrapped the child from his chest and set her on the floor. She immediately began to push around the room, doing a strange crawl with her rear shoved high in the air. Xellos shut the door and smiled at Lina’s questioning stare. “She doesn’t like to crawl,” he explained with a lopsided grin, putting his hand behind his head.

Lina nodded and sighed, watching him as he returned to her side and sat on the edge of the bed. “Are you all right?” he asked gently, reaching out a hand, which she noticed had no glove upon it, and brushing some of the hair out of her eyes.

“No,” Lina grumbled, starting to shake. “It hurts like hell when someone leaves you.”

Something in his face twisted in a very un-Monsterly fashion and he kicked off his slippers, lying down next to her. “I’m here, whether you need to talk about it or scream that it’s all my fault,” he murmured.

For some reason his words struck a nerve and she felt the tears well up in her anew. Reaching out, she curled her fists in his shirt and pulled him to her, burying her face in the fabric. She felt his arms wrap around her tentatively, then his long fingers were stroking her hair gently. Ignoring the fact that no heartbeat echoed within his chest, she pressed herself to him. Even if he was a Monster now, even if he wasn’t capable of many of the things he had been as a human, he had still become her friend during their time in the cabin, and she supposed that his race didn’t change that. He was still her friend, most likely, and when she thought of it that way, she found it wasn’t so awkward and didn’t hurt quite as much.

Lina flung her arms around him and let him hold her as she wept, feeling all the pain of loss and fear of loneliness bubble to the surface. She finally realized that Gourry truly was gone, that their time together was over, and it would be a long, long time before she would see him again. It dawned on her that she would get over it, that with time the pain would fade, but at the moment it felt nearly unbearable.

Xellos, mercifully, did not say a word, just rested his chin on the top of her head and let his warm arms encircle her body. He moved his hand down to her back and gently rubbed it, and the contact was soothing. She realized that she had felt pretty alone and isolated for a while, and it was nice to have someone hold her and be with her. Not that she needed it, she told herself, but it was still nice.

He held her until her crying stopped, his embrace tightening as her body continued to tremble. “I’m so sorry, Lina,” he whispered into her hair. “I never wanted you to feel pain. I would protect you from it, if I could.”

“No one can,” she murmured. “It’s part of being human.”

She could have sworn she felt him tense a little at her words, but it was so slight that she couldn’t be sure. His lips pressed against the top of her head and he gently released her. He sat up and tucked the covers more tightly around her, then reached over and gathered up pillows, placing them behind her so that she was propped up. “Here,” he said. “I didn’t know how hungry you were, but I thought you should eat something.” Placing the tray in her lap, he produced a flower out of nowhere and placed it in the small glass vase on the tray. It was a white rose, the smaller, wild variety that had grown in her parents’ garden when she was a child. The scent was more spicy than the normal sort of rose, and she wondered how he had known it was her favorite. She looked up at him, the question on her lips, but he put his index finger to his mouth and whispered, “It’s a secret.”

She shook her head, amused but unable to express it through her sadness, and took up a fork, staring at the breakfast in front of her. Her appetite hadn’t really returned, but he was right, she should eat something. The food actually looked quite good, and she recalled that Xellos was an excellent cook. She raised the fork but paused before she gathered her first bite. “Would you like us to leave you in peace?” Xellos asked gently, leaning forward.

Lina considered, then shook her head. “No, not just yet,” she murmured, taking a bite of her breakfast.

Xellos nodded and smiled, turning his head and watching Lecia scoot around the room. “She’s amazing,” he breathed. “It seems like she learns something new every single day. I can’t imagine what that must be like.”

“Probably overwhelming,” Lina muttered around her breakfast.

“You went through it, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, but I was way too little to remember it. We humans don’t remember everything that happens to us the way that you do.”

Xellos sighed and nodded. “I suppose that’s true. Still, I remember certain things much more clearly than others.”

She took another bite and glanced at him sideways, expecting him to elaborate. He fell silent, however, and she was unable to read his expression. Xellos was an enigma, and she was glad for it. His mysteries gave her mind something with which to occupy its time. She jumped as there was a thump and the child started to scream, and Lina could have sworn that she’d never seen Xellos move so quickly.

“Oh dear,” he cooed to the baby as he picked her up. “Did you bump your head?”

The child’s little red face contorted and she began to cry, Xellos kissing her head and bouncing her gently as he murmured things to her. “Is she okay?” Lina asked, wincing at the high-pitched sound of the baby’s wails.

“She’s fine,” Xellos said. “She’s getting more bumps now that she insist on moving around on her own.” He nuzzled the baby’s head with his nose and kissed her. “Poor thing, I’m sorry it hurts,” he murmured.

“What’s her name?” Lina asked, feeling a little guilty as she did so. The kid was hers, after all, and almost 10 months old, if she calculated correctly, and yet she didn’t even know her name.

“Lecia,” Xellos replied, then paused. “Lecia Inverse.”

Something caught in Lina’s throat. It was as if she finally realized that, whether she liked it or not, the little girl was a part of her, a part of her family. Nothing she did would erase that fact, or that Lecia was proof that she had once shared something with Xellos, something intense enough that she had been willing to give him her body and become one with him. Funny, she could recall feeling that way about Xellos, but she had never before realized that the baby represented that. She had always considered the child an unhappy accident. The baby still made her uncomfortable, but perhaps that would change, over time.

Xellos sighed and re-strapped Lecia to his chest and returned to Lina’s side. “I’m sorry for the disturbance,” he mumbled. He gestured at her near-empty plate. “May I remove your tray?”

“Uh, sure,” she said, watching him take it from her.

“I’ll see to it that there is a bath waiting for you shortly,” he said moving towards the door. “There are plenty of books around if you need distraction, and I’ll bring your noon meal to you. I was hoping, however, that you’d take supper with us.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Lina replied, feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Xellos smiled and executed a little bow, then left the room. Lecia’s whimperings faded as they moved away, and Lina slid out of bed and closed the door to her room. Walking over to the wardrobe, she threw it open and drew a breath as she saw the beautiful things stored inside. They weren’t the sort of clothes she typically wore, but the craftsmanship was amazing and the fabrics were soft beyond belief. The garments were almost all long dresses, of many different cuts and fine cloth, and she ran her fingers over all of them, finally choosing a white gown of cotton gauze with another cotton shift beneath it. The fabric was filmy, light, and utterly soft, just as she would expect a cloud to feel. She reached up and pulled it from the hanger, laying it out on the bed and realizing the bodice of the dress was embroidered with white silk thread in an intricate pattern of leaves. Her finger played over the soft cloth once more, then she looked around for a robe. She found one folded in a drawer, and as she pulled it out she realized that it was the same robe Xellos had given her when they were living in the cabin. She pressed it to her face and inhaled. Why, it even still smelled like their cabin, like wood smoke, bound leather books, and cooking spices. A small smile passed across her features, the first real smile she had experienced in a long time. Sliding it on, she went in search of a bath.

As she sat in the warm water, flicking idly at the surface with her fingers, memories began to come to her unbidden. It seemed as if every single moment she had ever shared with Gourry was passing before her eyes. Tears rolled down her cheeks and into the water, her sadness feeling hollow. They had been through so much together, had cared for one another so deeply. She had been through most of life’s trials with him at her side, and yet now she was alone. He would never be with her again, no matter how much she might wish it. She understood that now; seeing the house they had shared briefly standing dark and quiet had driven the situation straight into her heart. Still, she couldn’t just forget about him. Her love was too long-lived for that. He had been her first love, and she tried hard to forget that he was not the only man she had cared about.

Pushing thoughts of the present from her mind, she closed her eyes and plunged below the surface of the water, letting the warm liquid cradle her and bear her away from her reality. She would try and remember only the good things, like when he had called her “Lina” for the first time instead of “little girl”, or when he had done his best to come to her rescue. She especially remembered the first time they had made love, her first time ever, and smiled sadly to herself.

The memory was as vivid as if it had happened yesterday. They had lost their supplies, and it had started to rain. With only one blanket between them, Gourry had gallantly given it to her, but then his shivering had kept her awake. Not wanting to lose sleep, she had invited him under the blanket, which proved to be her undoing. She should have known that two people, as close as they were and as attracted to one another as they were, could never have shared the same blanket without something happening. Yet she had done it anyway.The scent of him had been clean and airy that night, like wind across a field in the spring, with a hint of something darker, something strong and manly. It made her insides go all funny, as did his touch when his large, strong hands squeezed her gently. She had looked up into his face to see him smiling at her, his handsome features kind and his sparkling blue eyes fixed upon her as if she were the only thing that existed in the entire world. In that moment it truly felt like they made the universe, and their pressed-together bodies were the essence of eternity. His battle-roughened hand reached up and stroked her cheeks, clearing away the fiery red tendrils of hair that clung to her face. She blinked her huge ruby-colored eyes, and before she could react he was kissing her, his lips warm and soft on hers. To her surprise she kissed him back, feeling his mouth becoming more insistent. Her body answered his, and she sighed as his tongue slid into her mouth. The temperature inside of her rose and she found herself gripping his muscular back tightly as he rolled her over, his hand sliding to her lithe waist. “Lina,” he whispered against her neck, pulling at the fabric of her shirt. She grunted in reply and suddenly wanted to be out of her clothes very, very much. Her hands snaked her way down the cleft of his spine and clutched at his firm buttocks, feeling his powerful muscles move as he repositioned himself. In spite of her better judgment, she grabbed his face between her hands and kissed him roughly, wondering why he was taking so long in getting her clothes off. He broke away from her lips and tore her shirt down the front, lowering his head to her burning skin and caressing her with his lips. An electric thrill ran the length of her body and she arched her back. Never in a million years would she have guessed Gourry would make her feel this way. Still, he was taking too long, and so she reached down and rid herself of her remaining clothing, smiling as he struggled to take off his trousers. Soon the warm length of their bodies were pressed together in a consuming embrace, his golden hair spilling over her as he held her.

His passionate kiss when he entered her had distracted her from the initial burning pain of having him inside of her, and within mere minutes it was over, his weight crushing her as he panted atop her, spent. She was tired and achy and did not care about the brevity of the encounter, but felt pure bliss as he rolled to the side and folded her into her arms. “I love you, Lina,” he murmured into her ear, kissing the lobe tenderly.

“I know, Gourry,” she had whispered, but he was already asleep.

Lina broke the surface of the water with a gasp as the memory faded and bled into a more recent one, a recollection of a dark-haired man with fire in his eyes as he clutched her to him in the candlelight. She remembered her first time with Xellos even more clearly, if that was possible. The memory was so vivid, in fact, that when she shut her eyes she could feel his mouth on the back of her neck and his thin, muscular arms wrapping around her from behind. That first time with Xellos had taken much longer that it ever had with Gourry, and she would never forget how it felt to be pressed to his body above her as he held her off the mattress, only his strength suspending her as he moved within her. He had taken her to heights of pleasure she had never imagined, let alone experienced before, and he was matchless in his inventiveness. Still, love with Gourry had given her something that made up for the lack of creativity, even though she couldn’t put her finger on it. She doubted that anyone would ever make her feel the way Gourry had, and she didn’t even want to try to look.

She scrubbed her face in an effort to rid herself of tears, and before long she found that her thoughts combined with her solitude were too much for her. She was tired of weeping over something she couldn’t change, but the pain hadn’t gone away yet, either. It didn’t seem as if it ever would. Sighing, she climbed out of the bath and wrapped herself in one of the luxurious towels Xellos had laid out for her, thinking that for a heartless Monster he was a pretty good host. As she slipped the robe around her body and slid the door open, a wonderful sound filled her ears. It was a man’s voice, a lovely tenor, singing a tune she thought she recognized. The music held her spellbound, and before she knew what she was doing, she found her feet taking her to the source of the melody. She padded down the hall and to the kitchen and dining area, stopping short when she entered the room. Xellos had her back to her, sitting in a chair as he held a spoon up to the baby’s mouth. The baby was strapped into a highchair, looking quizzically at the food. It took her but a moment to realize that the beautiful singing was coming from Xellos, the haunting tones rising and falling as he tried to feed the child. The baby also seemed enchanted by the tune, for she fed with ease, staring at her father the entire time.

Then Lina recognized the melody, the insight slicing through her like a heated blade. Gourry had hummed that song all the time, telling her the tune had been passed down in his family, although no one knew the words anymore. It had been his favorite song, and she couldn’t hear it without being reminded of him. Xellos, however, wasn’t humming, he was singing, the tones clear and beautiful as they echoed throughout the house and into the sunlight, and he was singing words.

Her breath caught in her throat and she made a faint choking noise, tears pooling in her eyes. Xellos must have heard the sound, for he paused in feeding the baby and turned to her, the melody fading upon his lips. “That song,” she murmured, “What is it?”

Xellos slowly put down the baby spoon and inclined his head politely. “It’s an ancient song, Miss Lina,” he said gently. “It’s an elven song.”

“How do you know the words?”

A faint smile crossed his face. “I’ve had a thousand years to learn many things,” he replied softly.

The tears gathering in her eyes overflowed, tracing the lines of her cheeks and landing on the collar of her thick robe. “What do they mean?”

Xellos stood slowly and walked up to her, his sharp features almost tender as he raised a gloved hand and wiped a tear off of her cheek with his thumb. “It’s about letting go and being carried along wherever life takes you,” he explained. “It says that there’s no use worrying about the past, because we can’t change it.”

“It’s so beautiful,” she murmured, looking away.

“The elves were a wise people,” Xellos breathed, caressing her face with the back of his hand.

She couldn’t take it, having him so close, so familiar, and yet so alien. It occurred to her to wonder if he was gathering power from her pain at that very moment. He reminded her of all the things that passed between them that could never be again, and of all that she had lost when Gourry left her. Before her stood a man, not even a man, really, not anymore, who would never be able to understand the anguish she felt. He was a Monster, he lived to cause anguish, and she refused to be a meal for him. “Does it make you happy?” she grated through her tears, staring at his face and hating the fact that she wished he was human, so that he could take her into his arms and offer her familiar comfort against her pain.

“Does what make me happy?”

“My agony?”

His head jerked back slightly, as if she had taken him off-guard. “Why would it?” he asked, dark eyebrows furrowing slightly.

“You’re a damn Monster.”

If she hadn’t known better, she would have thought he looked pained. “Miss Lina, your suffering does not cause me pleasure. In fact, in merely serves to make me feel powerless, since I cannot help the one I most desire to please,” he said softly, gently wiping strands of wet hair out of her face.

She looked up at him and couldn’t stand the honesty in his face, couldn’t deal with the truth she saw in his usually-devious features. “No,” she whimpered, and turned away from him, leaving him standing with his hand reaching out to her as she padded back to her room.

The days dragged into weeks and before long she felt as if the life she had lived was no longer her own. Everything that had happened to her seemed so incredibly distant. She tried to think back, but the effort was almost painful. It seemed like ages ago she stood in front of the resurrected piece of Shabranigdo, facing him down with Gourry’s Sword of Light and the Giga Slave. So much had happened since then. She had defeated Shabranigdo, Zanaffar, numerous lesser Monsters, Hellmaster Phibrizzo himself, and the twisted beast born of the merging of Darkstar and Volphied. Kanzel, Mazenda, Orkalym, Anemony. . . It was all behind her. Zelgadis and Amelia were married, and very likely happily so, and Gourry was forever beyond her reach. They had all chosen, she realized as she stared out the window at the sea. She had sat in that chair every day since Xellos coaxed her out of bed, watching the ocean day and night, and yet it had just dawned on her that everyone was living with the choices they had made. Not her, though. She was living because of Gourry’s choice, because of Xellos’ choice.
As soon as she had the thought she realized it was false. They had been forced into making decisions because of her actions. What had Xellos once told her? Something about her acting without thinking about the consequences? Her mind drifted back to Zelgadis’ and Amelia’s wedding, to when she had left Gourry in the night. How must have he felt, to have her gone without a reason? He, at least, had told her why he had to leave her. Leaving him had been her decision, just as it had been her choice to take up with Xellos. She had willingly made love to him over and over again, reveling in every moment of it. She had not been careful, and had gotten pregnant. Her hand slowly traveled downward to lay on her abdomen, resting where the swell of her womb had been. Perhaps it would have been better if she had chosen differently. Perhaps she would have been happy to have the baby if Xellos had stayed human. If she hadn’t wanted to find the texts for her spells so badly, perhaps he would have been human still. Xellos, too, had made decisions. He had opted to take Monster power to save her life, and to care for their daughter even though he was not human any longer. She wasn’t even sure he was pure Monster anymore. What had happened to all of them, and what part had she played in it?

She shook her head and slowly rose from her chair. It was her turn to own up to her decisions. She had fled from the consequences long enough. Lecia was her daughter, no one else’s, and Xellos was the father of that child. Gourry had made the most painful decision of his life in order to give her the family she had unwittingly created, and she wasn’t sure that she could let his sacrifice be in vain. “I’ll always love you, Gourry,” she whispered into the sea air, and stepped out onto the porch.

Lina walked in the shadows of the thatched roof until she came to the railing of the porch. It was the first time she had stepped outside of the house since the night she had nearly drowned herself in the ocean. Leaning against the wooden railing, she wrapped an arm around a pillar and looked across the white sands of the beach. Palm trees softly swayed in the breeze as the waves rolled gently in, the smell of salt and tropical flowers in the air. The sound of the waves and the cries of birds in the distance made her feel as if the world was standing still for a moment, and for the first time in a long while she felt as if she could breathe again.

Then she spotted them, and her insides went all funny. There were the fruits of her decisions, down there near the water’s edge. Xellos stood ankle-deep in the water, his baggy trousers rolled up to mid-calf, the bare skin of his toned back turned to the sun. The muscles of his lithe, naked torso rippled as he moved along the edge of the surf, bent over to hold the hands of his daughter. Lecia tottered between his legs, her tiny hands gripping his fingers as her chubby little legs pumped along. Xellos gently pulled his hands away and Lecia staggered a few steps before beginning to topple. Suddenly his hands were beneath the child, catching her before she hit the sand. Lecia squealed and grasped at his fingers again, and the process began anew. Snippets of Xellos’ voice floated up to her on the breeze, and she could barely make out his words of encouragement. The dark hair of his head shone in the sunlight, and the girl’s hair promised to be the same texture and glossy color. Xellos was teaching their little girl to walk, and the sight touched her somehow. A smile graced her lips, rare in its genuine nature, and she leaned her head against the pillar. So what if the father of her child was a Monster, and a conniving, evil one at that; he might not be capable of loving them, but he would care for them. The least she could do was try.

It was then that Xellos turned his head towards her, letting go of Lecia’s hands as he stood to face her. Even from such a distance she could feel his eyes upon her, studying every detail of her. The child, deprived of her father’s balancing hands, lurched forward across the packed sand and, miraculously, began to walk. Lecia’s eyes went wide and round, as if her locomotion surprised even her, and then her clear child’s giggle rang out triumphantly across the sand. Xellos was immediately at her side, grinning so widely that Lina thought his face would split. His exuberant laugh wrapped around his daughter’s voice as the sound was carried off by the sea wind, and Lina couldn’t help but smile in return. “Her first steps!” Xellos crowed, then caught Lecia as she finally toppled. The little girls squealed and squirmed in her father’s embrace, laughing again as he rained kisses down upon her tiny face. “Who’s the most talented girl in the world?” he chortled, rubbing his nose against hers as he walked towards Lina.

By the time they reached her, Lecia had hauled herself up to sitting in Xellos’ arms, a small hand pressed flat against his bare chest. The baby blinked up at Lina with wide, amethyst eyes, and for the first time Lina saw herself in the child, mixed forever with Xellos. “Did you see?” Xellos asked, face settling into his usual smile. “Our daughter just took her first steps!”

“I saw,” Lina said softly. As much as she hated to admit it, there was something magical about watching someone walk for the first time, and she couldn’t help feeling oddly proud to know that it was her flesh and blood that accomplished such a feat.

“Baaah!” Lecia squealed, reaching little arms out to Lina and waving them about. “Bah bah aaah!”

Xellos chuckled and bounced the girl lightly. “I think she’s proud of herself,” he said brightly. He turned his closed eyes toward Lina, face even more passive than usual. “I also think she’d like you to hold her. She’s starting to recognize you, you know.”

“She is?” Lina asked, a little uncertain. She had never been comfortable around other people’s babies, and most certainly hadn’t wanted her own, especially this one. To have a child on accident with a man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with was one thing, but to have mothered a Monster’s child...

“If you’re not ready I’ll understand,” Xellos said softly, turning his head to the side. “Lecia will, too.”

“Gaah!” Lecia belted out, the tones of her voice seeming to disagree with her father’s words.

Lina eyed the child, whose brow furrowed as she reached out. Chubby hands waved in the air almost desperately, and Lina, despite her wishes, reached out in return. She held her breath as Xellos gently handed the child over, an unreadable expression on her face as she wrapped her arms around the child for the first time in nearly a year. The baby’s skin was unbelievably soft, and a bit of wonder sparked in the middle of her chest as she realized that this little thing had actually come from her body. “Hi,” Lina said awkwardly, looking down into the child’s face. Lecia didn’t reply, just wrapped her hands in the long, red strands of Lina’s hair and laid her head against Lina’s breast.

Lina started as she felt a tentative touch on her bare shoulder, quickly turning her head to see Xellos standing next to her. “I think she has become tired,” he murmured, slowly edging nearer to her. “Isn’t she a pretty baby?”

Lina’s face scrunched up, not knowing if she liked the situation or not. There she was, standing in a place she didn’t necessarily want to be in, holding a baby she didn’t want, next to the man she didn’t really want to be with. Yet there was an odd peace to the scene, she noticed, and having Xellos standing so near wasn’t entirely bad. Was this her fate? Was this truly what she had brought upon herself?

Lina sighed and looked down at the child, who really did seem to be tired. “Yes, she’s beautiful,” Lina breathed.

Xellos nodded once and smiled. “Not nearly as becoming as her mother,” he murmured, and gently took the baby from Lina’s embrace. “Here, I’ll put her down. If you’d care to wait here I will bring refreshments.”

Lina looked around at the porch and decided that it was a beautiful day to sit outside and sip a drink. She hadn’t done such a thing in a very, very long time. Gourry hadn’t been the type to sit and chat for long hours. In fact, she and Gourry had rarely conversed at length, since he usually couldn’t understand what she was talking about. How things had changed. When she thought about it, she realized that the last time she had just sat around and talked with one other person was over a year ago. The person she had chatted with then was the man who was fetching them drinks at that very moment.

Just the thought of it made all the old feelings swirl up inside of her. The emotions were almost painful as they rose within her chest, and she quickly sought a seat. She sat down heavily in the wooden chair and rested her arm against the table, blinking into the patches of light the thatched roof of the porch let through. The things she had felt back then... It was one of the few times in her life she didn’t have to explain herself. Xellos had understood everything about her, it had seemed, even things she wasn’t sure she understood about herself. However, what was that compared to Gourry’s unconditional love?

“Here you are, Miss Lina,” his silky voice said, intruding on her thoughts. She felt the blood rush to her face, feeling a little guilty for thinking about her previous relationship with Xellos. The fact that Lecia existed at all was painful enough without remembering how things had been before the child was conceived.

“Uh, thanks,” she mumbled as he set the tray down and sat across the small circular table from her. He nodded and smiled benignly at her, graciously pouring her a glass of ice tea, fresh raspberries swirling in the liquid. Damn him, he had even remembered her favorite summertime drink. Well, she wasn’t going to magically forget about Gourry, no matter how nice Xellos was being to her. She was just going to stop thinking about men altogether. That would certainly fix her problem.

She sipped her tea for several moments, lost in her attempt to think about anything and everything but Gourry or Xellos. Eventually, however, she realized how quiet it was. The only sounds were those of distant birds and the ocean wind. Xellos usually would have been yammering on about something or other by now. Slowly she became aware of his gaze upon her, but when she turned to look at him his eyes were closed. The usual mild expression he wore was nowhere to be seen; instead his brows were furrowed slightly, and he looked more serious than usual. “Miss Lina, if you would like to leave. . .” he murmured, trailing off.

She looked at him askance, a bit confounded. Xellos never faltered in his words, why was he doing so now? “What?”

“If your wish is to leave, I will make it so,” he replied.

For long moments she studied his face, searching for any sort of hidden trick or meaning, but he seemed to be genuine. Leaving would let her get on with her life, to start anew yet again. However, she couldn’t get the image of Lecia’s first tottering steps out of her mind, nor the vision of Xellos, standing shirtless under the sun, surf rolling about his ankles as their daughter lurched forward. “I’ll let you know when I’m ready,” she said softly, and he merely nodded in reply.

Lina was slowly getting used to things on the island. She even had started to swim on occasion, liking the feeling of freedom that cutting through the water gave her. There were still days and evenings when she sat by her window, staring out to sea and wishing with all her might that things had been different, but the gaping pain in her heart had subsided to an ache she could deal with. She was taking dinner regularly with Xellos and her daughter, and their antics had even made her laugh on occasion. As much as she hated to admit it, she was beginning to find her life on the island quite comfortable. First of all, the weather was beautiful, like nowhere else she had ever lived. The sun was out nearly every day, and the wind was rarely harsh. On top of that, Xellos, although a Monster, was still an excellent cook, and she hadn’t eaten so well or so often in quite some time. Then there were the books, the incredible number of rare and ancient books that Xellos would bring to her, pointing out this and that and acting as a sounding board for some of her theories. It felt so good to work again that she could almost forget about the circumstances that landed her in her present situation.

She was, however, still exceedingly uncomfortable around Lecia. Xellos, luckily, usually entertained the little girl, although sometimes she heard him wandering about the house, singing that haunting elven song to the child. Whenever she entered the room he would stop singing and begin to hum, and she had the presence of mind to wonder why. All these thoughts were running through her head as she stared out the window above the desk, watching the stars twinkle in the sky. Her train of thought was interrupted as she heard a squeal and small, thumping footsteps heading straight for her. She inhaled in surprise as Lecia barreled into the room and latched herself onto Lina’s leg, holding on as if she was drowning. Xellos came in a few moments later, looking slightly harried and holding a towel out in front of him. “Come now, little one,” he said gently, gesturing with the towel. “It’s a bath and bed for you.”

Lecia wailed and wrapped her fists even tighter in Lina’s leggings. “What’s going on?” Lina asked sharply, a bit distressed but not knowing how to shake the child off without hurting her.

“I interrupted her play time to prepare her for bed, but she seems to have other ideas,”Xellos explained, tones of exasperation in his voice. “Now that she can walk I have to chase her everywhere.”

“Better you than me,” she grumbled, scowling down at the child as Xellos put his hands around her midsection and gently pulled her off of Lina’s leg.

Lecia whimpered and struggled against Xellos’ grip, reaching her arms out toward Lina. A great cry came from her tiny lungs and tears formed in her large, dark eyes, tearing something inside of Lina’s heart. “She really seems to hate that,” she said softly, frowning slightly.

“She has to bathe, Miss Lina,” Xellos said, trying to wrangle Lecia in the towel. Lina could tell that he was being gentle and trying to soothe the child, but Lecia seemed to flail about even harder no matter what he tried.

“I know, but still...”

“It’s for her own good,” Xellos said through clenched teeth, trying to wrap the towel around the child to contain her.

“But Lecia...” Lina protested, alarmed by the ruckus that Lecia was creating.

“She’s fine, she does this when she doesn’t want to do something,” he explained. “Come now, little one, please settle down.”

Tears were rolling down Lecia’s face in earnest as she howled her protests, twisting so violently that Xellos set her on the ground to avoid dropping her. The little girl immediately tottered over to Lina and clung to her leg again, pulling at the fabric of her trousers and looking up at her with large, pleading eyes. “Oh, Xellos,” Lina muttered, feeling surprise, distaste, and wonder all at the same time.

“Come on, Lecia,” Xellos said patiently, taking hold of the girl again and tugging gently.

Lecia screamed and looked up at Lina, eyes full of tears. She gingerly reached down and picked the child up, settling the baby in her lap. Lecia made a soft noise and burrowed against Lina’s chest, and she felt her arms curl around her daughter as if by their own accord. Before long the child’s mood had passed and she seemed to have forgotten what was in store for her.

“Well, thank goodness that’s over. Still, I think it might be best of you escorted her to her bath,” Xellos said, throwing the towel over his shoulder.

“Uh, okay,” Lina said, hefting the child. Lecia squirmed and buried her face in Lina’s neck, but was otherwise well-behaved.

“See?” Xellos said softly. “It’s not difficult. She just wants to be close to you.”

Lina could sense that there was more he would say and held back, but the time didn’t seem right to ask him. Instead she focused her energy on getting Lecia to the sink in the kitchen, where Xellos deftly stripped the baby of clothing and put her in the water. “Okay,” Lina breathed, relieved.

“Would you like to help?” Xellos asked, rolling up his shirtsleeves.

Lina froze in her tracks and turned around slowly. “What?”

“Please help. I think Lecia would like it.”

Lina returned to the sink, taking in Lecia’s soft, pink skin. How helpless the child was. If she did not have everything done for her, she would perish. Suddenly the responsibility of having a child hit her full force, along with the realization that Lecia really, truly needed her.

Following Xellos’ lead, she rolled up her own sleeves and began to help him scrub the baby, her hand brushing against his in the water. The skin of his hand was warm and slightly rough, and suddenly she was reminded of what his hands felt like on her body. She retracted her hand as if she had been bitten and looked away, blushing furiously. Xellos, however, either did not notice or elected to ignore her reaction, for he kept on bathing their daughter. She watched as his long fingers gently touched Lecia’s perfect skin, thinking how ironic that the hands that had destroyed so much, had ended so many lives, were the same hands that had held her in the night and now cared for a mortal child.

“Your mama’s helping, Lecia,” Xellos cooed, leaning down closer to the child. “See Mama? See Mama help Daddy?”

“Okay,” Lina growled, not wanting him to remind her.

“See Mama? Ma-ma?” Xellos continued.

Lina scowled and put her hands on her hips. “All right, that’s about enough of that,” she grumbled.

“But she’ll never learn to speak if we don’t try to teach her,” Xellos replied.

Lina raised an eyebrow. “You've been doing this for a while, haven’t you?”

“Well, it’s probably about time she learned to speak. See Mama, Lecia? Mama wants to hear you talk!”

“She can talk whenever she feels like it. Don’t pressure her,” Lina snapped.

“Ma-ma,” Xellos said, putting his hand on Lina’s forearm. “See, Lecia? This is Mama.”

“Xellos, stop it!” Lina protested sharply, blushing slightly at his touch. Just what did he think he was doing?

“Mama,” someone said, and Lina froze in mid-motion.

“What?” she whispered, staring wide-eyed down at the child.

“Finally!” Xellos crowed. “She speaks! Say it again, Lecia! Say ‘Mama’!”

Lecia blinked up at him for a moment, watching his lips. “Xellos,” Lina growled, and then there it was again.

“Mama,” Lecia said, the word very clear.

“Mama?” Lina breathed.

“Mama,” Xellos echoed. “She called you ‘Mama’.”

“But-”

“You’re her mama, Lina. You had better get used to it sometime.”

Lina glanced at the child, unable to believe that she was Lecia’s first word. Of course she suspected that Xellos had no small part in that. Most likely he had been trying to get the girl to say that for weeks. Still, something warmed inside of her, and she smiled in spite of herself.

Lecia’s squealing interrupted her reverie. She looked down at the girl, who was giggling and hitting the surface of the water with her hands. Suddenly a spray of water came up and hit her square in the chest, completely soaking her blouse. “Hey!” Lina growled, scowling, and flicked water back at Lecia, careful not to frighten her. The child gasped in surprise, then seemed to catch on, smacking water back at Lina.

“Oh, dear,” Xellos murmured as Lecia included him in her attack, madly pounding at the water with her open hands.

Lina laughed as water flew everywhere, Xellos carefully joining in the fray. Lecia’s bubbly baby chortling rose above it all, and the sound was sweet to Lina’s ears. She felt happy for the first time in quite a while, and finally it dawned on her why Gourry had left her behind. It was this that he hadn’t wanted her to miss, it was this sense of family that he didn’t want to deprive her of. She wasn’t sure what Xellos was thinking or feeling, even as a human he had been a complete mystery to her, but she knew then that Lecia really did need her mother. Lina knew it would be difficult for her to feel comfortable with her own child, the child she did not want, but it was done and all she could do was try to live with the consequences of her actions. If that included being a mother, so be it. It was too late now to try and change anything, anyway.

Lina walked out onto the beach and collapsed, feeling overheated inside the house on such a hot night. She felt almost as exhausted as Lecia must have felt, she realized. Yawning, she stretched out on the sand and stared up at the stars, thinking how beautiful they were. Somewhere under those same stars was Gourry. She hoped that he knew that she didn’t hate him for what he’d done. He would always have a part of her heart, and she could only pray that he felt that. As if conjured by her thoughts of him, she heard the melody he had always used to hum drifting across the beach to her. She closed her eyes and listened to the song, the elven words sounding strange but smooth to her ear. The music came nearer and soon was upon her, the sand shifting as someone sat down beside her, the song even sweeter up close. Strange, but Xellos had never sang for her before. She hadn’t even known that Monsters could sing. It didn’t seem as if such a sweet, pure sound should be produced by one so dark and evil.

“Mmmm,” Lina mumbled, keeping her eyes shut.

“I’m sorry, am I bothering you?” Xellos asked, and she could suddenly feel his nearness.

So he was evil incarnate. He was still the most polite person she knew. Xellos had gone out of his way to be courteous and respectful to her, although it did seem as if he had been distant. Then again, he had been somewhat distant the first time he was a Monster as well. It occurred to her that perhaps the current Xellos was a completely different animal than he had been before.

“No, don’t stop,” she murmured, feeling the sweet heaviness of sleep steal into her limbs. “What does it mean? What are you singing?”

Xellos cleared his throat and let the words loose again, but this time sang them in her language. “So many times I watched as you lay sleeping, gripped by some faraway dream. I felt close but so secluded, away from everything, so it seemed. I longed to hear my name in the darkness, hoped that you would then fuel my fire, but you were gone ‘cross the oceans, as far away from me as the tide. I remembered the times you were with me, and how our bodies would lay so entwined; it seems like earth gone to heaven, my short time with you was sublime. But away from me you were swept, fate, it appeared, had something in mind, and I cried bitter tears to the ocean, but all that came back was my sigh. Now my sole hope is you’ve found it, the joy and life you were meant to find. If you and I must be parted, the past we have had was divine. I will not forget you, but I know that I must let you go. The birds have their wings and the wind, you have your heart and time.”

His voice faded off into the night, and she lay there, silent, for some time. Slowly she opened her eyes, studying his darkened profile against the light of the stars. Yes, he was different than before, and she wondered if all the human hadn’t been removed from him. For a Monster he was being awfully sensitive and kind, not once trying to cause trouble. Oh, what she wouldn’t have given to have her ring back just then, to activate its magic and finally be able to understand what was going on inside of him. Her question died on her tongue, as she did not want to interrupt the atmosphere his song had created. She suspected he would never sing for her again. Still, the question nagged at her, and even though she suspected she wouldn’t get a straight answer from the trickster priest, she had to try. Her probing might even drive him further into himself, but it was a chance she was willing to take. Sitting up, she moved her hand toward his arm, wanting to touch him and break the melancholy spell he had cast over them, but he did not react and she pulled her hand away awkwardly. She sighed and looked down into her lap for a moment, formulating her words, then took a deep breath and spoke. “Are you completely Monster once again?”

His head moved as if he looked down upon her, but the deep shadows of his bangs prevented her from seeing his face. A soft noise escaped him, as if he was on the verge of launching into a lengthy story, but instead he merely sighed. “Yes, I’m supposed to be,” was all he replied.

Lina swallowed, unused to conversing frankly with someone. He had said ‘supposed’; did that mean that he actually wasn’t one hundred percent Monster? She studied his sharp profile as he leaned back on his elbows in the sand, the night breeze stirring his heavy, glossy locks, his lips parted ever so slightly. This Xellos was definitely different than both the ones she had known before. “But you aren’t,” she whispered, almost nervous to hear his reply.

Again he sighed. “No, Miss Lina, I am not. When my mistress changed me back into a Monster, my human soul was grafted to my Monster soul. Now I am trapped between the two races, enjoying the benefits of neither.”

Lina felt an odd weight settle in her chest. So she was correct; there was some human left in him still. Still a bit anxious, she clenched her hands in her lap to keep from reaching for him and took another breath. “What’s different?” she asked. “Which are you more of?”

He shook his head. “You ask difficult questions, Lina Inverse,” he said softly, eyes hidden in the shadows of his bangs. It almost hurt to see the once-jovial Xellos changed so, but she supposed a year as a mortal was worth a thousand as a demon. Still, even as a human he had possessed more humor, and it bothered her to see him as he was at the moment.

“I just want to know what I’m tangling with,” she replied as gently as she could.

“I am mostly Monster, with the human fluttering just beyond my reach. I know it’s there, and I can almost touch it, but as soon as I try to pin it down it vanishes from my grasp like mist. So much is there, and yet I can’t get to it, can’t return to either life I once possessed.”

Lina saw his jaw clench and the tendons in the backs of his hands stood out as he curled his fists in the sand. Frustration fairly radiated from him, and she didn’t need her ring to sense it. Certainly he was different, but it wasn’t bad. Even if he was a Monster, he had been exceedingly gentle with her. Besides, the fondness he held for Lecia was undeniable, and watching his long, powerful hands move lightly over the baby’s skin as he bathed her had touched her somehow. Xellos wasn’t like other men, Monster or otherwise, and he never had been. “I’m sorry,” she finally said, lowering her eyes.

“No need,” he replied gently, turning to face her.

“I’m sorry for everything,” she pressed, meaning the words with her whole heart. He had done too much for her to ignore it, and she didn’t want him to be upset.

She finally caught sight of his eyes, the amethyst depths glittering in the starlight, and she found herself wishing that he would open his eyes more often. Even if his slitted pupils still bothered her a little, he had beautiful eyes, and she wanted them to give up their secrets. Once again she realized she really didn’t know him at all. Xellos, the everlasting mystery. “Miss Lina, please don’t worry about it. Everything will be fine.”

“But what about for you?” she blurted, leaning towards him and looking straight into his gaze. “Drop the act and let me in, dammit! You don’t need your masks here!”

Xellos snorted sharply, but she couldn’t tell if it was out of bitterness, amusement, or surprise. “You broke my mask years ago,” he muttered. “Please, you don’t need to fret.”

“What can you still feel?” she whispered, afraid of the answer but unwilling to drop the subject. A tight look crossed his face, and she knew she had nearly pushed him too far.

“Everything I could feel as a Monster. I feel glee, discomfort, fondness, annoyance, frustration...I feel all the emotions that do not require passion. The rest are lost to me, although I’m aware of them, flitting at the edges of my perception. . .”

“Xellos,” she murmured, unsure what to say next and not even certain that she wanted to comfort him.

Suddenly his eyes closed and his face snapped back into his customary bland smile. “Shall we go inside?” he asked, voice brighter than in the preceding moment.

“Look at me,” she growled. “Don’t do this. You can’t. It’s not good for anyone, not even you.”

His features slowly relaxed and she saw his eyes open a sliver. “Let’s go inside,” he said, all pretense vanishing from his tone.

“Okay,” she said with a yawn, and before she knew what was happening she found herself cradled in his arms. It crossed her mind to protest, but then she remembered how exhausted she was. “Just this once,” she murmured, letting her head rest against his shoulder.

“Very well,” he said, and smiled down at her.

As they walked toward the house, something occurred to her. “Hey, Xellos? What are your plans for the future?”

His smile stayed on his face and he inclined his head, closing his eyes. “That is a secret,” he replied, and a moment later she was fast asleep.

Xellos clenched his jaw against his words, relieved when she finally dropped off to sleep. It was so frustrating, feeling for this woman and yet unable to access those feelings. It was as if he was deaf but was still aware of sound vibrations, which served only to tease him. Still, she had been making progress. It had been weeks since she took a meal in her room, and he had even caught her gazing at Lecia with a soft expression on her face. Oh, how he wished that he was capable of loving the woman and the child. He would have given his limbs to be able to feel for them. As it was, every time they laughed he felt nausea wash over him, his Monster’s senses disgusted with their happiness. Instead of gaining power from their emotions he actually felt drained by them, especially the child. As darling and entertaining as his daughter was, her nearly-endless joy sickened him to no end. His system just wasn’t used to taking it. At least Xellas had begun to send him out on missions again, always short ones and always at night so that he could return in time to feed Lecia in the morning.

As he gently laid Lina down on her bed he was tempted to lie down beside her, so exhausted was he. It felt as if he had been sucked completely dry, and he desperately needed some time to recuperate. He was satisfied that the females had fun, but their positive emotions wreaked havoc upon his system. Smoothing the hair from her face, he studied Lina carefully, a million memories surfacing inside of him. He remembered the first time he saw her as she attacked the group of bandits, savored the violence in her soul as she destroyed the bandits’ hideout and beat a few of them senseless. From his perch high above the ground he had witnessed the whole incident, and he had known then and there that Lina would be a particularly gratifying mortal with whom to keep company. Her incredibly short temper and tendency towards powerful negative emotion supplied him with incredible energy boosts, and yet she was intelligent and strong enough to provide interesting sport as well. He supposed that he had always been fond of her, at least as fond as his race’s capacities would allow, although it had been the sort of fondness one might feel for a pet or possession rather than another person.

Well, then he had become human, and the rules of the game changed. Suddenly her negative emotions did not satisfy him, grant him power, or otherwise benefit him. Her frustration and pain became his frustration and pain, and he found that he would do anything in his power to prevent her from feeling anything but wonderful. The reversal of motivation had sent him reeling for quite some time, but he had eventually come to enjoy pleasing her. The sparkle of her genuine smile had made his mortal heart race like precious little had done, and her joy was every bit as sweet to his mortal self as her pain had ever been to his Monster incarnation. Her happiness had been his happiness. At present, however, he was incapable of happiness at all. Satisfaction was the closest he could come, and it felt empty and pale in comparison with what he had known as a human. What bothered him the most, however, was that he was still saddled with the Monster’s desire to draw energy from her pain, but he simply couldn’t bring himself to do it. He honestly wanted her to be happy, and yet when she was her emotions sickened him. It was if he had been cast into the darkest pit of Hellmaster’s domain, with no possible way to escape.

He removed his hand from Lina’s cheek and stood stiffly, watching the shifting moonlit shadows in the room with his keen Monster’s vision. The disgust he felt at Lecia and Lina’s happiness was worth it, he supposed. There were other ways for him to procure energy for his uses, which reminded him that he was most likely overdue to report for duty. Quickly teleporting to Lecia’s room, he checked on the child one last time. Satisfied that his females were sleeping soundly, he then materialized in his mistress’ throne room, bowing before her dais and remaining there until she saw fit to notice him.

“You’re late,” Xellas said, examining her fingernails.

“Forgive me, Mistress,” Xellos intoned, feeling slightly more well now that he was away from the humans and their tumultuous feelings. “I had to put Lina to bed.”

Beastmaster snorted and shook her head. “So much effort for that slip of a female,” she murmured in bored tones. “And the little one needs so much caring for. Thank goodness you are no longer capable of making more.”

Xellos ignored the intimate memories that came to mind, also doing his best not to pay attention to the emptiness inside him when such thoughts occurred to him instead of the fire that should have been there. “My apologies,” he intoned, head still bowed.

“Enough.” She sat up in her throne and slid down off of the seat, walking over to him and stroking his head as if he was a dog. Her fingers slid through his hair and caressed his scalp, then she gripped him roughly. He took a breath and held it, eyes squeezed shut. There was no telling what she would do, especially if he had displeased her. For a moment it seemed as if she would yank on his hair and pull him to standing, then her hold on him relaxed. “You frustrate and perplex me, Xellos,” she growled, striding back to her throne.

He remained kneeling, letting out his breath slowly. “I’m sorry,” he murmured, not daring to look up. Only her slender, tan ankle, encircled by fine chains and bangles, was visible out of the corner of his eye, the silken cords of her sandals shining dully in the dim light of the cavern. “You have a mission tonight, my pup,” Xellas said, voice calm and cool once again.

“Yes, Mistress?”

“Take this message to Dolphin. She’s the only one who still has high-level minions left.” Xellas flipped an envelope at him, not bothering to gesture for him to rise and take it. “I wish we hadn’t lost Gaav so long ago, or that you had been able to trade the Inverse girl’s life for that dragon-man’s loyalty.”

Xellos kept his lips tightly sealed, the image of little Val bringing him fresh diapers for Lecia fresh in his mind. “It is a pity,” Xellos replied carefully. He didn’t want to be reminded that he would have once cheerfully traded Lina away.

“Dynast is still put off by the entire Sherra incident,” Xellas explained. “And hopefully Dolphin won’t tear you apart the moment she sees you. You’re probably safe, however, even if you run into her minions. Even tainted as you are, you’re still stronger than anyone she has created.”

“Yes, Mistress,” he said, reaching forward and gathering up the letter. “Would you like me to linger there and await a reply?”

“It won’t be necessary,” Xellas sighed with a wave of her hand. “You’re distracted enough as it is. Come back before your child awakens and becomes hungry. It wouldn’t do to neglect her.”

Another jolt of alarm assaulted his system, just as it did every time his mistress showed interest in his daughter. He hated to admit it, for her will was his will, but he didn’t trust the Greater Beast, especially with his family. He suspected that she let Lina live out of sheer curiosity, but he had no clue as to why she seemed so intrigued by Lecia. It surely wasn’t anything good, however. His mistress never cared for the well-being of mortals, let alone infants. “As you wish,” he said, and disappeared.

It occurred to him to wonder what was in the letter as he materialized in the heart of Deep Sea Dolphin’s abode. To look at it, however, meant certain death. Still, he suspected that it most likely had something to do with himself or Lina, perhaps both. Most likely it pertained to Lina, since Xellas would appreciate the fact that he was the one delivering the message. He wondered if it contained some sort of orders; Xellas seemed to be slowly taking command of the remaining Monster forces. Then again, Dolphin and Dynast had displeased Xellas in the past, so perhaps it was a warning.

He pulled the letter out of his satchel with a mental shrug, knowing that speculating would do him no good. He hadn’t taken but a few steps when a tall woman stepped in front of him, blocking his path. Her deeply green hair trailed almost to the floor, and she planted a hand on his chest. “Halt,” she growled, looking down at him with angry blue eyes.

Xellos immediately put on his benign smile and nodded his head reverently. “Good day, Naiyad,” he said brightly, lifting his gaze from her cleavage, which was at his eye level. He was a fairly tall man, but the woman dwarfed him.

“Shut up, Xellos. Word of what you’ve done has reached even here,” she said sharply, glaring at him.

He feigned innocence, putting a hand to his collarbones. “Oh? And what would that be?”

“Everyone knows you were turned human, especially us. You helped that mortal kill our own, after all.”

“Ah, yes,” Xellos replied with a sad nod. “That was rather terrible of me, I suppose. Please rest assured that things did not work out the way I intended.”

“Shut up,” the woman spat. “It’s bad enough that you helped kill Orkalym and Anemony, but actually breeding with the enemy? That’s despicable, even for a flea-ridden wolf pup like you!”

Xellos felt himself stiffen and annoyance began to build inside of him. “I’d thank you not to speak so,” he said coldly, drawing himself up to his full height.

“I’ll speak how I wish in my Mistress’ domain,” she snarled. “You’re lucky we don’t pressure Lord Xellas to end you now and the miserable lives of your womenfolk!”

“I advise you not to speak ill of my family,” he intoned, voice brittle in thinly-veiled animosity.

“Now you’re protecting them!” Naiyad cried, putting a hand to her forehead. “What have you become, Xellos? You used to be the best of all of us!”

“Things change,” he replied flatly. “I’ve done my penance and I’ll hear no more of this. Please let me pass and complete my duties.”

“So you can what? Go back to playing nursemaid to a couple of mortals?” she said with eyebrows arched.

He put a hand on her chest and gathered power. “Precisely. Now let me pass before I move you myself.”

Naiyad bared her teeth at him and stepped out of the way. “You had better watch your back, Xellos. You’re not one of them.”

“I know that,” Xellos said coldly, and stepped past.

As he returned to his mistress he reflected on how strangely he had been treated while in Dolphin’s domain. Dolphin herself had been chilly but respectful, obviously aware of the station he still held. Her minions were considerably less polite, making veiled threats left and right. Naiyad was correct; he really would have to watch his back, as well as those of his family.

His musings vanished from his head as he realized the sun was rising. Lecia would awaken soon and need to be fed, and he wasn’t certain when Lina would wake up. Best not to let that one go hungry for too long. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and teleported back to his family.

He reappeared at the foot of Lina’s bed and removed his shoes, quietly discarding his cape. Before he could do anything else, however, Lina’s voice stopped him. “Today’s her birthday,” she said, speaking in low tones.

“It is?” he asked gently, walking around to the other side of the bed so that he could see her face.

“Yeah. She’s a year old today. A whole year has passed.”

“My goodness, it’s hard to believe.”

Lina’s ruby gaze slid over to his face, expression unreadable. “I guess a year doesn’t mean much to someone like you,” she said flatly.

“It didn’t in the past,” he replied softly, “But things change, Miss Lina.”

“Whether we want them to or not.”

He stood in silence, quietly examining her. She lay perfectly still, gazing out the window at the ocean. Carefully he sampled her emotions, but he got nothing. Lina was being carefully neutral. “Eh, should I draw a bath for you?” he asked as gently as possible.

“Do what you like,” she murmured, and rolled over, facing away from him once again. Again he sampled her emotions, searching for anger or sadness, and encountered nothing but confusion. Well, if she didn’t even understand what was going on with her, there was certainly no way he would.

He sighed and glanced around the room. “I can’t do what I’d like to,” he mumbled to himself, taking in the sight of her smooth, flawless skin and wishing he felt anything more than aesthetic appreciation for her body. He could remember so many mornings with her, watching her awake slowly and then making love to her until breakfast. Such desire and joy was far beyond him at the moment, however, and most likely would never be within his grasp again.

“What?” Lina said, propping herself up on her elbows as a slight crease formed between her eyebrows.

Xellos resisted the urge to lie to her, to tell her that he loved her and wanted her with all his heart and soul, to give into the vain hope that saying the words would make them a reality. “Nothing, nothing at all,” he replied brightly, moving around the room and tidying up the mess she always seemed to leave behind.

Lina scowled slightly and he felt her eyes upon him. “Are you okay?” she asked, turning in the bed to look at him.

“Of course,” he lied, shoving away the near-constant frustration he felt. “I was wondering, though, what human birthday tradition entails.”

“Oh, right,” Lina said, her gaze focusing far away as he quietly folded her clothes. “Well, there should be cake, lots of cake, and we sing. Sometimes we play games.”

“So it’s sort of a feast day?” Xellos asked, putting away clean clothes and piling her dirty outfits in a basket. Oh, what some of the other Monsters would think, to see him acting like a human servant. They would find a way to destroy him for certain, if they knew.

“I guess so,” Lina said with a shrug. “Lecia’s a bit young to play games, though, and you’d probably just cheat anyway.”

“Miss Lina,” he protested, hefting the basket of laundry and clicking his tongue at her.

“We both know you’d try something tricky the second the game started,” she said with a smile. “I don’t think you could help it.”

“Well, I suppose you do have a point,” he said, voice resigned. “It really is much more fun that way.”

“For you!” Lina added with a snort.

Xellos feigned surprise. “Of course! Isn’t that all that matters?”

“No!” Lina replied, smile widening. “I need to have my fun, too!”

“Oh? And what would that be?”

“Making you pay for playing dirty.”

A slow smile crossed his face and he gave into his whims, setting the basket of laundry on the floor. “If you want to punish me you’ll have to catch me first,” he said softly, disappearing and rematerializing right next to her. She gasped in shock and he poked her in the ribs, making her squeal. She turned to face him and he teleported behind her, poking her again. She squealed one more time and whirled on him.

“See?” Lina cried. “You’re doing it already!”

Xellos’ smile broadened. “And you are doing an exceedingly poor job of stopping me,” he replied, holding up and index finger and wagging it in her direction.

“Only because you cheat!” she protested, clambering out of the bed and flexing her hands. It looked for all the world as if she was actually going to try to catch him.

He laughed softly at the idea that she though she could even slow him down, then teleported again. “It’s not cheating,” he explained. “I’m simply utilizing a natural ability that you, by chance, do not happen to possess.”

“I still call that cheating!”

He stepped to the side and dodged as she tried to tackle him, watching with amusement as her arms closed around empty air. “Miss Lina, your efforts, while admirable, are useless,” he said with a smile, then dodged her again.

After a few more repetitions, Lina stood panting in the middle of the room, legs parted and fists clenched. “Cheaters never win,” she growled.

“Oh no?” Xellos replied with a grin, and began to teleport again. As he did so, however, he heard Lina mutter something under her breath and quickly make some gestures in the air. His eyes opened wide with surprise as he froze in midair, unable to move as a spell wrapped around him. Straining against it did him no good, and as he tried to find a hole in her casting Lina let loose a shout and hurled herself at him.

“Gotcha!” she cried, grunting as she barreled into his chest and knocked him backwards. He landed in a pile in the laundry basket, Lina tumbling on top of him and coming to rest there.

“I see I have underestimated you,” he said softly, then saw a strange expression settle on Lina’s face. Her cheeks turned a dark pink and her hands tensed where they were pressed flat against his chest. He lay perfectly still as her breathing quickened slightly, her face mere inches from his. The soft puffs of wind created by her breath gently touched his lips, and the room fell utterly silent around them. Time seemed to slow, then stop altogether as he felt the fluttering beating of her heart, her eyes closing halfway as she haltingly leaned forward.

The spell was shattered by a child’s cry, piercing his head like a siren. Lina blushed deeply and pushed herself away from his chest violently, standing and throwing a summer robe around her shoulders and flimsy nightgown. “You going to see to that?” she asked sharply.

Xellos extricated himself from the laundry basket and stood with a sigh. What had just happened? “Of course,” he murmured, picking up the basket. “Then I shall draw your bath. Perhaps later I will see what I can do about getting a cake. It is a feast day, after all.”

Lina seemed to relax a little and glanced at him over her shoulder. “That would be great,” she replied, smiling softly.

“As you wish,” he said with a bow, then set about tending to his daughter.

Lina leaned against the door as she closed it behind Xellos, heart pounding madly inside of her chest. Her cheeks burned and she wondered what the hell she had been thinking. Had she completely lost her mind? Xellos was a Monster, not the human lover whose life she had shared for nearly a year. She couldn’t want a Monster anyway, could she?

She shook her head to clear it, thinking that she was probably just grasping at the nearest physical contact she could. The men in her life had always been physically attentive, and she found that she missed it. Still, to want to take a Monster... Never mind the fact that even though she could feel no heart beating within his chest, his muscles and perfect skin still seemed to be intact. His appearance certainly hadn’t changed along with his race, and she knew that his toned, tight body had been just a thin layer of fabric away. It had been so long since she had been held in an intimate matter, and matters weren’t helped by the fact that she could remember him so incredibly well. Her history with Gourry warred with her brief, intense history with Xellos and she turned away from the bed in disgust at herself. Her body might be ready, but her heart wasn’t.

She sat heavily on the edge of the bed and waited until Lecia’s crying ceased and Xellos could be heard in the bathing chamber, cooing to the baby and drawing her bath.

“It’s ready, Miss Lina,” he called, his footsteps padding away down the hall.

Saying nothing, she waited by the door until he could no longer be heard, then quickly slipped from her room into the bath, leaving her clothes heaped on the floor. Sticking her toes into the water, she found the temperature was absolutely perfect and lowered herself in. The water swirled around her as she sat down and she realized that the water had even been scented. It smelled exactly like her favorite white roses. Damn that Xellos, how dare he know her so well.
With a sigh she let herself sink deeper into the water, unable to believe that an entire year had passed since that awful day at Filia’s, when Xellos had been roaring her name outside and it felt as if she would split in two from the child exiting her womb. Giving birth had been the most painful thing she had ever experienced and she felt justified in never wanting to do it in the first place. Oh, how she had loathed the tiny creature that came from her body, hating what it represented. The baby was proof, to her at least, of what she had so briefly shared with Xellos and what could never be again. It seemed a cruel joke that a being should exist as such a mockery of time spent with another person. She had felt guilty at leaving the baby, and therefore her past with Xellos, behind, but the moment she had laid eyes on Gourry, all such feelings had passed. From that moment on she knew only the security of his embrace.

Then the baby had come back with Xellos, dredging up all her old fears and disappointments. It had been several months since she had seen Gourry. Her time with him had been brief, far too brief, but there was nothing she could do about it now. She felt as if her strength had finally returned. Today, on the anniversary of her child’s first year of life, it seemed like she was ready to reclaim her life. The question that plagued her, as she sat in the deep tub, was which direction to take. She knew that Xellos wouldn’t try to stop her if she wanted to leave. Still, if she left, where would she go? Back to Seyruun, where her memories could torment her daily? Wandering again alone, which would only emphasize her loneliness?

A scowl crossed her face and she wiped sweat from her brow. She had another option, as much as she didn’t want to admit it. It was the path that Gourry wanted her to take, and Xellos. Did she want to take it, though? “Mama,” she murmured into the water, remembering what the word sounded like in her child’s voice. Something inside her quivered and she knew that if she left now, she most likely would never see any of her friends again. She would have to hide her past from herself and others every single day. Wasn’t that too high a price to pay for leaving Xellos and Lecia?

Groaning to herself and closing her eyes, she leaned her head against the edge of the tub, thinking. Lecia’s burbling laugher came to her from somewhere in the house, and the striking image of Xellos playing peekaboo with their daughter sprang to mind, the baby’s face stretched in a toothless grin. Could she really stand to leave that?

Mind made up, she got out of the tub and wrapped a towel around her hair, throwing on a robe. She left the bathroom without a backward glance, instead marching to the spot Lecia’s laughing was coming from. Sure enough, Xellos was engaged in a serious game of peekaboo with the baby, making all sorts of funny noises as he covered and uncovered his face with his gloved hands. “Xellos,” she said sharply, suddenly very self-conscious. She could feel droplets of water snake down her spine as he lifted his head to look at her, an expression of equal surprise on Lecia’s face.

“Yes?” he asked, standing up slowly.

“Open your eyes.”

“Miss Lina?”

A scowl settled on her face. “Just open them.”

He pressed his lips together and slowly revealed the glittering amethyst depths of his eyes, their slitted gaze boring into her. He blinked once or twice, but the rest of his expression remained carefully neutral. “Yes?” he said softly, as if afraid he would scare her off.

“I’m staying with you,” she announced, holding her breath after she spoke. There, she had said it. It was too late to take things back now.

He lowered his head fractionally, a mirthless smile crossing his lips. “For how long?”

Lecia began to make noise and Lina glanced at her, watching her fat baby limbs move aimlessly in the air. “For a while. I’d like to see a few more of Lecia’s birthdays.”

Xellos did not react at all and a strange sort of disappointment slowly spread through her chest. “I’m glad that you made that decision,” he said after a few moments, his dark gaze suddenly meeting hers. She swallowed a breath as she looked into his eyes, tantalized and frightened simultaneously by what she saw there.

“You should be,” she said sharply, then felt silly. She watched his gaze take a quick inventory of her body, then the fabric of his gloves went taut over his knuckles as he clenched his hands. A strange look passed over his face, somewhere between despair, anger, and disgust, leaving her bewildered.

He turned away from her slightly, looking back at Lecia, then his lips parted as if he would say something. She held her breath, waiting, but no words came from him. The air in the room seemed to thicken with hidden thoughts and she found it increasingly difficult to bear. “I think today we should focus on the little one,” he murmured after several more moments of strained silence.

“Fine with me,” Lina said with a nod, forcing enthusiasm into her voice, hoping that if she pretended to feel it she eventually actually would. “I’ll go get dressed and then it’s party time!”

A tight smile crossed Xellos’ face. “Everything will be ready by the time you are finished,” he said gently, then gathered up Lecia in his arms and disappeared.

When Lina emerged from her room once again the dining table was laden with delectable things to eat. Lecia was strapped into a highchair, slapping her palms against the wooden tray. Xellos stood at the sink in shirtsleeves, his head slightly bowed. He seemed to be wearing an apron, although it was difficult for her to tell with his back to her. She resisted the suddenly intense urge to press herself to his back and rest her head against his shoulderblades, like she had done so many times when they had been living together in their little cabin. Those days were long gone, and would never return. They were parents now, and when she thought about all the free time they would never have again it annoyed her. “I remember when everything you cooked was geared towards killing others, whether through poison or sheer stench,” she said, walking over to the table and peering at the food heaped there.

“You don’t appear to be dead, so I will assume that my skill at pleasing the human palate has grown since then,” he said, not turning around.

“Yeah, although it was touch and go at first,” she said with a short laugh, but he didn’t take her up on her humorous mood.

“There!” he announced, and turned around. He held a plate in his hands, upon which sat a large chocolate cake. There were icing letters written on the cake in an impeccable hand, and she knew immediately he had done his best to make it perfect.

“You forgot the little candles,” Lina said.

Xellos held the cake nearer to his face, and Lina watched in curiosity as he scrutinized the surface. “You are correct,” he murmured, a slight frown on his brow. “What is the tradition? A candle for each year?”

“Yeah, she only needs one candle,” Lina said, eying Xellos warily.

“How about. . .Here,” he proclaimed, and pointed at the cake, snapping his fingers at the same time. Lecia squealed aloud as a single candle appeared out of nowhere in the center of the cake, a flame already at the end of its tiny wick.

“Showoff,” Lina growled. “And she’s only a baby! How is she supposed to blow it out?”

Xellos glanced from the cake in his hands to the child. “I suppose you’re right,” he said mildly, turning his face to her, eyes closed. “Perhaps you should blow it out. Go ahead, make your fondest wish.”

The tone of his voice as he said those last few words was flat, but Lina knew there was weight behind them. Sometimes she felt as if she and Xellos were engaged in a strange dance, trying to say everything while revealing nothing. Perhaps it was time to try and talk with him for real instead of the polite, banal conversations they had been having up to that point in time. She finally knew what was going on inside her head, but now she found that she wanted to know what was going on inside of his. “Fondest wish, eh?” she mumbled, then leaned forward and blew out the candle. Lecia squealed and clapped her hands together, then reached for the candle.

“Here,” Xellos said gently, pinching the wick with his bare fingers to extinguish any heat left in it, then handed the candle to Lecia. As he turned to set the cake down on the table, Lecia immediately tried to put the candle in her mouth.

“Hey!” Lina said, snatching the candle away. “That’s not good to eat!” Lecia’s face started to scrunch up, and Lina knew that tears were only moments away. “Oh, don’t cry,” she said softly, handing the candle back to Lecia and stroking her silky purple hair. “Just don’t eat it, okay?”

Lecia reached out and took the candle, turning it over in her chubby fingers and examining it. She looked up at Lina and broke out in a grin, giggling and holding the candle up. “Good girl,” Lina heard Xellos say behind her, and turned her head to see him facing them, a small smile on his face and his hands planted on his narrow hips. He cut a lovely figure, standing there in slippers and an apron, sleeves rolled up and hair pulled back in a short ponytail. She only wished that he would open his eyes and really look at her, and resisted the urge to put her hands on his broad shoulders and shake him for all she was worth. “Shall we sing?”

“I can’t sing,” Lina muttered, a scowl appearing on her brow.

“Nonsense,” Xellos replied. “I remember you once singing something about a boomerang. . .”

Lina’s eyes opened wide as an evil little smile crossed his face and she reached forward, punching him on the upper arm. “Shut up! I can’t believe you even remember that!”

“I remember everything,” he said brightly, then launched into a “happy birthday” song, his clear tenor filling the room. Lina joined in tentatively, and before long their singing was joined by Lecia’s squeals and laughter. Lina edged closer to Xellos all throughout the song until her shoulder was nearly touching him. Slowly she reached down and hooked his pinky with hers, holding him tentatively. It was rare that Xellos was without his gloves, and she found that she liked the slightly-rough skin of his hand pressed to hers. It had been such a long time.

His body tensed next to hers and he turned his head, the strands of his hair that weren’t long enough to be pulled back framing his face. She pursed her lips and stared up at him solemnly as their song ended, then gripped his finger more tightly with hers. His brows furrowed slightly, then relaxed as he returned her pressure. “Open your eyes,” she whispered to him.

“They’re Monster’s eyes,” he said in return, voice pitched so low she could barely hear him.

“I don’t care anymore,” she replied, releasing his finger and sliding her hand into his, surprised when he suddenly gripped it tightly. “You were my friend, sort of, while you were a Monster, and you’re no worse now than you were then. Besides, it’s not your fault. I’ve accepted what my life has handed to me, finally, and I think it’s time you do the same. We can’t change what’s happened to us, that’s for sure.”

“Miss Lina. . .”

“Come on, Xellos. It’s Lecia’s birthday. We should try to be happy today, for her sake at least.”

He looked at their child, his eyes slowly opening. His grip on her hand didn’t loosen, but he also didn’t make any further overtures. It made her wonder once again what was going on inside of him. “You are correct, as I’ve come to expect from you.”

“Great!” Lina said, tugging on his hand and spinning him around. “Let’s eat!”

“Of course,”Xellos said with a smile, locking her eyes with his. “No more games?”

She studied his slitted gaze, trying to decipher what she saw in its depths. Failing, she shrugged. “I’ll try if you’ll try,” she said, and smiled.

“Good enough,” Xellos said with a nod, and released her hand. Soon he had heaped a plate full with food and handed it to her.

“Thanks!” she cried, sitting down and scooping up her silverware, feeling saliva fill her mouth.

“Wait, I know it’s Lecia’s birthday, but I have something for you, too,” he said, face tightening in concentration as he dug through the pockets of his baggy trousers. “Ah, here we are.”

Lina eyed him warily as he extended his hand and opened it, revealing a small parcel. She took it carefully and unwrapped it, blinking as a ruby as long as her thumb came into view. It was set in a very delicate gold fitting, the whole thing a part of an amazingly fine necklace. The stone was exactly the color of her eyes. “Oh,” she breathed, freeing the necklace from its paper and fastening it around her neck. The stone hung just above the shallow cleft between her breasts and dazzled her as the light hit it. “It’s beautiful!”

“I thought it fitting to present you with something on the anniversary of your first year of motherhood,” he replied.

“This is perfect! Where did you find it?”

A familiar smile spread across his face and his eyes slid closed as he raised his index finger. “That’s a secret,” he replied brightly, and set about feeding Lecia.

Lina passed by the parlor on her way to bed, pausing at the entryway and gazing at the scene inside. Xellos was reclining on the couch, shoulders propped up by pillows and pointed features softened by the candlelight. Lecia slumbered on his chest, fists curled in the fabric of his shirt, his hands gently resting on her back. The book he was reading was hovering in midair above him, the pages turning of their own accord, and she smiled to herself as she shook her head. It was a lovely, peaceful scene, and a pleasant end to a nice day.

She stepped inside the room and sat in a chair across from him, placing the saucer she held in her lap and curling her legs underneath him. “That’s a neat trick. Must be nice to have near-limitless power,” she said with a smile.

“One would think,” he replied, not even glancing at her.

She scowled and shifted in her seat. “Whatever’s bugging you, don’t take it out on me,” she growled.

Xellos sighed, the book floating to an end table and coming to rest as he slowly sat up and held Lecia against his chest. She stirred slightly but did not wake up, only nestled her head into his shoulder and let out a long breath. “I apologize,” he murmured. “It was a lovely day.”

“Yeah, it really was. I didn’t think having a family would be fun.”

He inclined his head and smiled slightly, then looked her straight in the eyes. “I’ll be leaving soon on business. I’ll be gone for a while.”

She absorbed his words and studied him. “That’s not what’s eating you,” she replied.

He blinked and gazed at her for a while, then looked down at Lecia. “It will probably take me a month or so to carry out my mission. I’m afraid that I have to begin working in earnest. I most likely won’t be around much.”

“You’re avoiding the real subject.”

“My mistress has volunteered to care for Lecia, if that’s convenient for you. I can also take you wherever you wish to go, if you desire to travel unencumbered in my absence.”

“I’ll stay here, thanks,” she replied. “Now what’s going on with you, Xellos?”

“If I can return sooner, I will.”

Lina lost her temper, setting the cup and saucer down on an end table roughly. “Stop avoiding it!” she growled, scowling as hard as she could. “Tell me!”

“Please, Miss Lina, the baby’s trying to sleep.”

She bared her teeth at him, mastering her anger with some difficulty. Marching over, she gently plucked Lecia out of his arms and took her from the room, putting her down in her crib. She stormed back into the room and grabbed Xellos by the front of his shirt. “No more games,” she hissed. “You tell me what’s going on right now.”

“I see no need to,” he replied, standing up and deftly plucking his shirt from her grasp.

“What?”

“It really isn’t any of your concern,” he said, moving as if to brush her aside.

Lina lost all control, bringing a hand back and slapping him across the face as hard as she could. “Damn you selfish Monsters!” she grated. “How dare you?”

He looked at her levelly, obviously not even feeling her blow. “Sometimes the best-kept secrets are the secrets best kept secret.”

“That might have worked once, but not now,” Lina growled. “I’ve suffered enough because of you. I was torn away from you, forced to bear your damn child, finally got my life back, and then you ripped me away from the man I loved! It’s too late to back out of this now. I’ve thrown my lot in with you, and I’ve dealt with it. I’ve come to accept that it was the right thing to do, no matter how much it hurts and regardless of the pain it will always bring me in the future. I know you’ll never love me or our child; you’re a Monster, and not capable of it, but I know you well enough to know that you’ll do your best, and I can’t ask for much more than that. If I have to have you as my lifemate, whether I like it or not, I know you’ll treat me and our baby with respect and care, if not love, and that’s more than most women get from their men.”

Xellos didn’t bat an eyelash at her tirade, but she could see something in his eyes. “I’m sorry for your pain, Miss Lina, I truly am, but I see no reason to disclose myself to you, nor do I see what good would come of it.”

“Screw what comes of it!” she said, nearly shouting. “We’re a family now, and we have to act like it! That means no secrets. I refuse to let you punish us for your personal problems!”

“My intent was not to punish you.”

“Maybe so, but that’s what you’re doing. Maybe what’s eating you won’t seem as unmanageable with us at your side.”

“It can’t be helped or changed, and I therefore can’t see the purpose in discussing it.”

Lina snarled and pushed him back down on the couch, getting down in his face. “Maybe it doesn’t need to be helped, just talked about. Take a chance, Xellos. You can trust your family.” She felt something rise within her like a bubble, pressure applied to her insides with hollowness between. A sob caught in her throat, and she realized that she really, truly didn’t want him to suffer. “Please,” she said, voice growing soft.

He studied her for long moments, slitted eyes flickering over her face. He picked up her hand and turned it palm-up, gently tracing the lines in her skin. “I didn’t want to be a Monster again,” he murmured. “I wanted to say with you always, even if it meant I would die someday.”

She let him hold her hand, his fingertips resting lightly in her palm, and moved onto the couch next to him, watching as his neutral expression slowly deteriorated into one of unbearable pain. “Yeah?”

“But I didn’t have the choice. All the things you taught me about being human were blown away when I was forced to become Monster again. I was supposed to have been repenting for my actions when I was turned human, but instead I learned to rejoice. It was being returned to my former state that was the punishment.”

“I’m sorry,” she breathed. She had never before considered what his existence must have been like.

“Actually, my mistress couldn’t restore me to my former state. The human was grafted to my soul, and try as she might, she couldn’t remove it. So I am stuck, with Monster urges and desires, but with human longings. I want so much to miss you, and I know that somewhere, just beyond my reach, I do. That’s the problem, though; it’s all just beyond my reach. I’m human still, but I can’t touch it. It’s like I’m missing the most important part of myself, but will never get it back. I know I can still feel, I know that I do care for you and Lecia, but as I am now there is no way I can actually experience those feelings. I know I should be feeling, I know what I would be feeling at any given moment, but I still feel none of it, and never will again. I will watch you and Lecia grow and grow old, but won’t be able to do so along with you. You and Lecia will someday die and leave me behind forever. I am with you, but I will always be separate. I am tired of being alone and separate, but there’s nothing I can do but live with it for all eternity.”

Lina’s heart broke as she watched the pain and frustration play across his features. She hadn’t considered any of what he was saying, but it rang true. Living like he did was unfathomable to her. “Is there anything I can do?” she asked softly.

He closed his eyes and shook his head. “No, there isn’t, unless you’re prepared to kill me. Death is the only escape for me, but I find that I don’t want to die. Even if I can’t do so with you, I’d like to watch you both grow. It’s a very un-Monsterly desire, but it is there nonetheless. Besides, could you do it in cold blood, Lina? Could you kill me now, after everything that has happened?”

“Of course not,” she murmured, closing her eyes as well. “I don’t know if I would have had an easy time of it ever. Even if you were a backstabber, you were still useful, back then. It would have been awful to have to kill you. I’d never do it now.” She pursed her lips and looked down at where his hand held hers, thinking what a curse eternity must be. She would continue to live and grow, just as he had said, and with the passage of time her pain would subside. Gourry’s pain would dull eventually as well, and they would both be able to move on. Xellos, however, was outside of time, and she wondered what sort of hell it would be to be saddled with that pain throughout eternity.

“Is that enough for you, or is there something else you would know?” he asked softly.

“I can’t think of anything, unless there’s something you think I should know.”

“No, that is all. I only ask that if you need anything to please tell me right away. I want to do what I can for you.”

“I’ll find a way to help you,” she whispered, gripping his hand. “In honor of what we used to have.”

“Ah, the typical Inverse stubbornness I have come to expect,” he murmured, shifting his weight and putting his arms around her. He gathered her to his chest and began to recline, pressing her body against his. “It sometimes seems like a dream,” he whispered. “Please just lie here with me, and let me pretend that I dream still.”

“Okay,” Lina replied, squeezing her eyes shut to keep away the feelings she felt rising within her. She curled her arms around him as well, clinging to him as if to keep him with her, remembering how she had felt about him during the time they had lived together. She had never really stopped loving Gourry, but she could no longer deny that she had once had strong feelings for Xellos as well. Was it possible that, even though she had gone back to Gourry and loved him with all of her heart, that she had not stopped feeling for Xellos as well? She pondered this for quite some time, wondering where her heart now lay, until her tired mind gave up and she finally dropped off to sleep.

During the next few months, it became increasingly apparent to Lina that Xellos’ strain had not eased after their talk. He was, however, much more honest with her, and she appreciated that. He was often gone on missions, but whenever he was home she felt as if they were truly friends once again. Their conversations about magic, history, literature, and whatever else she had a mind to talk about fulfilled her greatly, and she felt as if she was being intellectually stimulated in a way she hadn’t been for quite some time.

She also hit her studies with a vengeance. It was obvious that Lecia was becoming more and more attached to her father, and she could tell that it was difficult for Xellos not to be able to return her affection. He did his best to playact, but it wasn’t hard for her to see that he was worried that the child would be able to detect his insincerity. If only she could find a way to give more power to the human in his soul. It would mean the world to all of them if he could feel again, but her studies were fruitless. That didn’t keep her from trying. She had been uncomfortable with the fact that Xellas was caring for Lecia at first, but the Greater Beast seemed to have a genuine interest in Lecia’s well-being, and she knew that Xellos would never leave the baby with his mistress if he thought Lecia would come to harm. Lina had never met, or even seen, Xellas, but she was beginning to trust Xellos enough that she was no longer opposed to the idea. Besides, as time wore on, she realized that the longer he was away, and Lecia was with her “Grandma”, the more time she had to work on helping Xellos.

It was an evening like any other during his absences. She was sitting at her desk, poring over some old texts Xellos had brought her and trying not to think about him. Becoming attached to him once again was not something she wanted to be, but as soon as he left she found herself wondering when he would return. She was only human, she realized, and therefore a part of life and its cycle, and that’s where she placed the blame when she found herself thinking about him coming through the door before going to pick up Lecia and putting his hands on her breasts or drawing a line of kisses up the side of her neck. Unfortunately her memory was pretty good, and she had no difficulty at all in recalling the way it felt to have him move inside of her, to have his hands run up and down her spine as he kissed her. She also knew that he most likely hadn’t lost his talents. An incident when he was still a Monster the first time crossed her mind on occasion, a memory of him trying to seduce her in an inn. He had seemed interested in taking her then, but he didn’t seem to be now. Perhaps it was his frustration at other things that was getting in the way.

She shook her head to clear it of such thoughts. Even though she hadn’t made love in roughly half a year, she didn’t see any reason she should try and begin that sort of relationship with Xellos again. She fervently wished she hadn’t thrown the ring he had given her away, because then she could have just touched it and he would have been an open book for her. Speaking of books, she realized for the umpteenth time that fantasizing wasn’t going to help Xellos’ situation in the least. She had to concentrate at the task at hand, not the clean lines of his body.

She had been reading for an hour and making no headway at all when she heard a soft noise. Spinning around in her chair, she looked expectantly at the door, waiting for Xellos to step through it. Nobody appeared, and she instantly felt foolish. A blush stained her cheeks, but then she heard the sound again. Was Xellos trying to sneak up on her? The thought disappeared from her mind the moment she had it. If Xellos was trying to sneak up on her, he would have done a flawless job. “Xellos?” she called, rising from the chair and readying a spell. Her heart began to pound in her chest as only silence met her ears. It wasn’t Xellos, of that she was sure. He wasn’t due for another week at least, and if he had come home early, he most likely would have announced himself. As sneaky and conniving as he was, he was also very polite, and smart enough to know that it was usually a bad idea to try and mess with her.

She paused at the door, ears straining for sound. A tiny thread of relief wound through her as she remembered that Lecia was with Xellas. She was fairly sure that no harm could befall Lecia while in the Greater Beast’s care. Still, she was alone, and had no idea who might be in her house. Their home was hundreds of miles away from other people, and so that left only one possible intruder: a Monster.

Pressing herself against the wall, she listened intently. There it was again- a slight shuffling sound down the hallway. Her blood pounded away in her ears and she considered readying a spell. No, if she did that they’d know where she was for certain, especially if it was a single high-level Monster. Depending on who it was, she probably wouldn’t have a problem taking care of them, but the uncertainty bothered her. As many times as she had crashed into adventures without looking, it still troubled her when she didn’t know what she was up against.

The shuffling sound moved further away and she carefully schooled her breathing. She wished that she wasn’t wearing one of the soft, filmy nightgowns Xellos had given her, thinking that it would be cumbersome to fight in, but was glad for her bare feet. The kitchen grew nearer as she crept down the hallway, the house around her completely still and dark. The moon shone faintly through some of the windows, but it wasn’t even close to being full. Less light could either work to her advantage or land her in trouble. Creeping ever nearer to the kitchen, she took a deep breath and kicked in the door, rushing inside. The spell in her hands fizzled out as light flared around her and she gasped in surprise.

Covering every single surface of the kitchen, including the walls, floors, and ceiling, were underlings.

Xellos scowled and dropped the body he had been holding, turning his face to the night sky. Something was amiss, he could feel it. Standing perfectly still, his staff planted firmly in the dirt at his feet, he concentrated, testing the air for the source of the disturbance. He found nothing wrong and his brow wrinkled in confusion. His mission was nearly accomplished; only three more days and he would be finished wiping out the new sect of worshipers of Cephied. Xellas had sent him to rid the world of the new followers of the light, since she had no desire to let the gods have more power than they already possessed. He had been efficient in eliminating them, but took none of the usual pleasure in their painful deaths. It wasn’t that he minded taking life, but he no longer derived the same sort of satisfaction from it. Merely one more misfortune to add to his ever-growing pile; what he had once so enjoyed had ceased being fun and had become work instead.

Still, nothing was amiss with his operation. Hundreds of people lay dead in the wilderness, and the others would take only a few days to ferret out. What was bothering him so?

His concentration was interrupted slightly when a group of ten people charged him, spells crackling through the air and weapons drawn. “Die, spawn of hell!” one of the humans cried, and Xellos glanced at them in annoyance. How was he supposed to think with all the racket going on?

“Terribly sorry,” he mumbled, glancing away from the humans and raising a hand. With the slightest of gestures he released a stream of dark energy, blasting the mortals to ash where they stood. The other humans backed away for a moment and he pressed his lips together, thinking. He was suddenly worried about his family. Lecia was safe with his mistress, but Lina. . . Lina was all alone in their house, and while she was certainly capable of defending herself against most things, she had made some formidable enemies over the years. There were also his enemies to consider; If they weren’t after her for things she had done, they would target her for the sole purpose of trying to hurt him. A thousand awful possibilities rampaged through his thoughts and he weighed his options. He could finish the job and return home as planned in three days, remaining in Xellas’ good graces and taking the risk that Lina would be safe and the anxiety in the pit of his being was nothing. He could also return home immediately and check on Lina, possibly falling out of favor with his mistress for doing so and failing to complete his mission. It only took him a moment to make his decision, and he vanished into thin air.

He knew the moment he materialized that something was wrong. The smell of smoke filled the air and he thought he recognized scorch marks on the ground that could only be made by spells. Then he realized that the entire kitchen of the house was missing. It hadn’t just been smashed or burned, but appeared to have been blown out of existence entirely. Not even charred timbers remained, and he immediately swept through the rest of the house, finding nothing. Outside several trees had been blown apart or uprooted, and everywhere there were signs of battle. His fears had been confirmed, and he was most displeased. “Lina!” he called, scowling into the darkness as there was no answer. Storming over to the other side of the house, he stepped out onto the porch and peered about. That was when he was able to discern that the beach was absolutely covered with underlings of all shapes, sizes, and levels of evolution.

“Lina!” he roared, fear creeping along his limbs. One, two, or even one hundred underlings would not have been a problem for her, but there were so many of them crowded onto the beach that he could not see the sand. Was she still alive, or had he come too late?

No answer reached his ears, but a sliver of white among the waves caught his eyes. His heightened Monster’s hearing picked up the faint sound of her voice, screaming obscenities at her attackers. The smell of blood was in the air, making his stomach tighten with worry. Without hesitating further he teleported to the shoreline, facing the hordes of dark underlings that pulsated on the beach around him. “What do you think you’re doing?” he said softly, narrowing his eyes and gripping his staff.

“Ridding our home of the human menace,” one of the larger, stronger underlings said, and Xellos casually blasted it out of existence.

“Anyone else?” he hissed, eyes as cold as steel.

The underlings recoiled and tried to shrink away. He curled his lip in cold fury and began to ready a spell, prepared to deliver long, painful deaths to each and every one of them individually, when he heard spluttering in the water behind him. Turning, he was just in time to see Lina, who must have been treading water for at least forty minutes, disappear under the waves. He snarled and altered his spell, put off that he would have to save his punishment for later. Still, Lina’s life and well-being was his priority, and time was of the essence. Raising his hands, he parted the underlings with a gesture and chanted a few words, then plunged his staff into the ground. Underlings writhed and screeched as the spell crept up their twisted bodies, turning them into stone. Soon the beach was completely still, covered with statues of grotesque creatures. Xellos left his staff sticking in the sand and plunged into the water, making it to Lina in a matter of seconds. Diving beneath the water, he swam toward her with powerful strokes, wrinkling his nose at the scent of blood in the water. So that was why she was unable to defeat them all and fled into the water; they must have injured her early on. He reached down a hand and gripped her wrist, pulling her limp form to him and breaking the surface of the water. Cradling her like a child, he made it to shore and waded out of the water, their clothes dripping. “Lina,” he murmured, looking down at her.

Her eyelids fluttered open. “What?” she began, then fell into a coughing fit.

“I’m home,” he replied. “I’m sorry I was late.”

“They came, I wasn’t ready,” she mumbled, wrapping her fists in his drenched cloak.

“Don’t speak,” he said softly. “You’re safe now. The underlings can’t hurt you.”

Lina tried to struggle against his grip for a moment, saying she could take care of herself, but she was still obviously dazed. He clenched his jaw and started up the beach toward the house, watching as Lina gradually noticed the plethora of statues situated on the sand. “You?” she whispered.

“Yes,” he said, shattering a few of the nearest statues with a look. “I will see that they are punished later.”

“You should let me help,” she grunted, the warmth starting to return to her skin.

“When you’re on the mend,” he said in reply, knowing full well he wasn’t about to let the underlings live that long.

She remained quiet until he got her into her room, stripping her of her wet clothing and laying her on her bed. He tore up some old linens and bound the wounds on her arms and legs. She hadn’t lost much blood, but the wounds had been in strategic points what would have robbed her of most of her stamina. His expression finally softened and he gently cleared wet strands of hair from her face. “Cold,” she murmured, her bare skin shining dully in the weak starlight.
“Here,” he said, reaching for a towel, when he felt her hand on his chest. He paused and looked down at her. She was gazing at him levelly, cheeks stained pink. He raised an eyebrow and leaned closer, trying to figure out what it was that she needed, when her hands gripped him roughly by the front of his shirt and pulled him down to her. His eyes flew wide open with shock as her mouth took his, her tongue sliding in between his lips. Her fingers quickly found the hem of his shirt and ripped it off over his head, his arms becoming tangled in the fabric. “Miss Lina!” he gasped, completely taken by surprise.

“Shut up,” she growled, her hands fumbling at the waistband of his pants. Before he was fully conscious of what was going on her fingertips were dancing downward from his navel, and it only took him a split second to figure out what she wanted. Her chest rose and fell quickly and her skin was giving off incredible heat, the clean, sweet womanly scent of her obvious in her desire. A hollow pit formed in his abdomen as he realized what she expected from him. He could carry out her wishes physically, but that’s all that it would be. He would feel nothing.

His thoughts were scrambled as he felt her hands tearing at his pants, shoving them downward until she could hook her toes in the waistband and push the fabric all the way down to his ankles. He roughly broke her kiss and tried to reach down towards his trousers, a growing sense of panic and nausea overtaking him. All his attempts to prevent her from laying him bare were thwarted and she finally managed to remove the majority of his clothes. There seemed to be no escape for him. If he fled from her now, his refusal to join with her could damage things irreparably and destroy everything he had worked so hard for. Still, he wasn’t sure that he could deal with the repercussions of going through with it. She whispered his name again and he realized he really didn’t have a choice, resolutely forcing his body to harden with a thought. Fighting down the hollow repulsion within him, he closed his eyes and entered her, trying not to hear her gasp or feel her back arch as their bodies merged. He moved as swiftly as he could, hands planted on the mattress beside her, just wanting it to be over. It was an awful mockery of what they had once shared. He could not feel desire, could not want her, and as he moved within her he was reminded of what she had once made him feel. Where once he had felt they were moving among the stars in their lovemaking there was now only nothingness. Disappointment raged through him and he kept his eyes tightly shut, knowing he would be unable to bear the look of pleasure he knew would be on her face. “Xellos,” she moaned into his shoulder, her skin still wet against his, and he felt her shudder beneath him. He slowed his pace until her spasms subsided, then pulled out of her as quickly as possible. Rolling to the side, he tried to make a getaway, but she held him fast, pulling him down onto the mattress next to her.

“Miss Lina,” he protested gently. “There are things that I must see to. . .”

“Not right now,” she murmured, curling up next to him and resting her head on his chest. “Just stay.”

He sighed and wrapped his arms around her, eyes wide open and staring into the darkness as he tried to ignore the aching nothingness inside of him where there should have been only rapture.

Morning found him in the kitchen, hair tied back and apron wrapped loosely about his body as Lecia tottered around the room, pulling on cupboards that were tied tightly shut. “Aaah!” Lecia growled as she tugged on the cloth that bound the cabinet doors closed. “Dada!”

“No, little one. You aren’t allowed in there,” he replied softly, never breaking his attention away from cutting potatoes.

“Dada!” the child screamed, rattling the doors as she made noises of frustration.

Xellos sighed and frowned slightly at the potatoes, reaching over with a leg and hooking his toes in the fabric of her trousers. She gently fell backwards onto her rump and he pushed her away from the cabinet with his foot without even glancing in her direction. “I said no,” he said, tone firm but gentle.

“Waaant!” Lecia bellowed, squirming away from his contact and heaving herself upright again.

Xellos sighed in defeat and put down the knife, placing a hand on his hip and looking down at his child. “Well, you can’t have them. You know that there are only pots in there.”

“Want!” Lecia screeched, face screwing up and turning red.

“I won’t give them to you. If I do, you’ll just start banging them together and wake up Mama. Do you want Mama angry at you?”

Lecia choked as if she was going to cry, but her eyes remained dry. “Dada, want,” she said, voice cracking. “Aaaa!”

“If I give you the pots, and you make Mama upset, she’ll blow up our house. She’ll cast a big, scary spell, and then where will we live?”

“Aaah!” Lecia protested again, but she didn’t sound quite as certain.

Xellos knew that she wasn’t comprehending all of his words, but he was fairly sure she was getting the gist. Lina had tossed spells off at little things around the house that had annoyed her, namely blowing the back door off its hinges one evening because she could no longer stand the squeaking. “Do you want to live outside, in the dark?” he said softly, narrowing his eyes at her.

“Aah,” Lecia replied, voice finally pitched at normal levels.

“If we have to live in the dark, we’ll have to watch out for monsters,” he continued, releasing some of his demonic energy and letting it swirl about the room. Lecia gasped and widened her eyes, little hands balling into fists. Crouching, he looked the child straight in the face, letting his slitted eyes entrance her. “And we’d have to be very, very careful that the night monsters didn’t come in the night and steal little ones,” he said, voice barely above a whisper. Lecia’s eyes began to fill with moisture and her lip began to tremble. Xellos closed his eyes quickly and smiled at her, standing with a fluid motion. He planted both palms on his narrow hips and cocked his head. “So, little one?” he asked brightly. “Do you still want to play with the pots?”

Lecia blinked at him from her spot on the floor for a moment, then tottered over to him and gripped his pant leg. “Dada,” she mumbled, voice wavering as she buried her face in the fabric of his trousers.

Xellos sighed and leaned over, gently patting her back. He kept forgetting how fragile and easily frightened humans were, especially young ones. Of course, life was fragile, and those who possessed it were capable of fearing it. He could remember that feeling from when he had no longer been immortal. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

“What the hell did you do to her?” an angry voice said, and he looked up to see Lina leaning in the doorway.

Xellos felt sweat bead on his brow when he realized the baby’s crying must have startled Lina awake. Putting on his most disarming smile, he looked up at her. “Nothing, Miss Lina,” he said sweetly. “We were just playing a game.”

“Then why is she crying?” Lina growled, glancing around the kitchen.

Xellos patted Lecia again and stood up. “What would you like for breakfast?” he replied brightly. “I fetched plenty of fresh ingredients. Pastries? Eggs?”

Lina’s eyes glazed over slightly and he knew his distraction ploy had worked. “Yes. All of those,” she murmured.

“Coming right up,” he said brightly, going over to the counter and picking up his knife once again.

“By the way,” she muttered, coming into the room, “I’m pretty sure that this room was blown out of existence yesterday. It looks pretty good now.”

“Doesn’t it?” he replied glibly, not turning around. He knew she was aware he was powerful, but he didn’t want her to know the boundaries of his power. If she knew he could cast time spells she would undoubtedly want to learn them, and he was fairly certain that teaching Lina how to manipulate the flow of time was a very, very bad idea.

“You know what I meant,” she growled, walking closer and glancing down at Lecia, who had started to crawl across the floor. “How did you repair this so quickly?”

He looked over his shoulder and smiled sweetly. “That’s a secret.”

“Augh!” Lina growled. “You’re impossible!”

“I try my best,” he grinned, bending over his cooking once again.

Lecia crawled over to the cupboard and began tugging at the ties, occasionally pounding on one of the doors. “Paaaaaa!” she snarled, pulling on the handle.

“What’s her problem?” Lina snapped. “Can’t you make her be quiet?”

Xellos sighed. “She wants to play with the pots and pans.”

“So? Let her.”

“Letting her play with them is counterproductive to maintaining peace and quiet,” he replied evenly, turning around and watching the pair.

“I don’t care,” Lina grumbled. “I just want her to stop whining, even if it means I have to listen to her bang pans together. He watched as Lina struggled with the ties that held the cupboard shut, then reached inside and pulled out a pot and its lid. “Here,” she said gruffly to the baby girl, handing her the cookware.

“Mama!” Lecia squealed, immediately crouching on the kitchen floor and examining the pan.

Xellos kept his expression carefully neutral as Lina stood and faced him, ignoring the hollowness that spread through his chest as he looked at her. She pursed her lips and glanced away, folding her hands in front of her. They stood there for a few moments, looking at one another, until he finally decided she wasn’t going to speak and turned away. He took up his knife and began to slice potatoes once again, tossing his head slightly to clear the strands of hair from his face.
“You really look nice in that apron,” he heard her murmur behind him, and his entire body went rigid as he felt her hands dance up the shelves of muscle on either side of his spine. Cold dread followed her touch and he squeezed his eyes tight in an effort to control his flight response. A shudder of apprehension left him as he felt the corners of his shirt pulled from the waistband of his trousers, wishing for all the world that he was anywhere else but with her. Her cool, smooth hands traveled slowly up the ridges of his stomach, tracing the cleft of his pectorals. As her fingers gently teased his nipples he knew he couldn’t go through with it again. Taking her when he felt nothing for her was too horrible a contrast to how it had been before. He did not want to be reminded that her touch, which has once nearly driven him mad with desire, now only sickened him.

“Of course,” she whispered against his back, placing her hands flat against his chest and pulling him to her, “you’d look even better out of the apron.”

“Please, Miss Lina,” he whispered, brow furrowing as desperation began to take him over.

“Lecia’s preoccupied. She’ll be okay for a little while,” she cooed, drawing her fingers down his sides and caressed his skin just below the drawstring of his pants.

He clenched his jaw against her misunderstanding of his hesitation, then set down the knife. Knowing that Lina would most likely take offense to any action that was less than amorous, he decided to throw caution to the wind and grabbed her wrists beneath his shirt, dragging her hands out into the open. “Please, stop,” he said gently, prepared to grip her more roughly if she tried to strike him, which, of course, she did immediately. A growl escaped her throat and her beautiful ruby-colored eyes flashed as she attempted to rip her wrists free.

“Hey!” she snarled, beginning to thrash when he wouldn’t release her.

“Hush,” he said, tone more rough than he meant it to be, and crushed her to him. If she was pressed tightly against his body there would be less room for her to take a swing.

“What’s the big idea?” she spat, breath coming in short, angry bursts. “Too good for me now that you have what you want?”

“What are you talking about?” he asked, gripping her tightly.

“What is it?” she cried, and he could feel her anger beginning to turn into alarm as she realized she couldn’t free herself. “Why don’t you want me?”

“Lina,” he said gently, but she didn’t give him time to speak.

“It’s not fair!” she hissed, glaring up into his eyes. “Just when I decide that maybe this won’t be so bad, that maybe I can live with you and our daughter, you turn your back on me!”

“Lina, if I could-”

“Shut up! I don’t want to hear whatever line you’re going to feed me! I want you, I want something from someone in the first time in months, and you immediately reject me! How the hell am I supposed to feel about that, Xellos?”

“Let me explain-”

“Would it make a difference?” she ranted. “You wanted me once when you were a Monster, back at that inn after Amelia recovered from her curse. How could you have wanted me than and not now, after all that’s happened?”

Xellos felt his frustration with her, himself, and the whole situation broke straight through his carefully-constructed mental barriers. He gripped her tightly around the upper arms and held her at arms’ length, scowling darkly. “I was different then,” he said roughly. “Listen to me. Do you think it pleased me to watch you fall apart? Do you really believe that I want to see you unhappy after all this time?”

“Shut up, you filthy Monster-”

“Don’t start. Please, I need to know what you really think, what your heart thinks, not what your anger and hurt would have you believe.”

His words seemed to have some effect, for she ceased her struggles and scowled at him. “Why won’t you touch me?” she whispered. “How can I believe what you say? You’re not famous for being truthful and straightforward, you know.”

“I know, I know,” he muttered, releasing her gently and leaning against the counter. He sighed and rubbed his temples. “I suppose I’ll just have to ask you to believe me.”

“Then you had better hurry up, before I change my mind.”

He glanced at Lecia to make sure she was still happily occupied, then looked at Lina. She seemed tired and harried, and he wished he could smooth all her pains away with a thought. Well, his truths might not ease her pain, but they might clear things up a bit. He had best just blurt it out before some sort of diversion occurred to him. “Miss Lina,” he murmured, “I can’t make love to you when my heart is dead as it is now, especially when it was so full of you before.”

She raised an eyebrow, but the corners of her mouth relaxed a little. “And you expect me to believe you because?”

“Because when I was human I couldn’t bear to keep my hands off of you. I wanted to be with you every second of my existence, holding you, touching you, hearing your voice...”

“And now?”

He shook his head. “Now I can’t bear to do any of that. It seems a pale, cruel mockery of what was once there.”

Something in her features hardened as she silently studied his face, and he thought for a moment she had understood what he was going through. However, a moment later her eyes began to flicker and her expression became soft as she smiled slowly. “Come on, Xellos. It’s not like we were in love or anything, more like friends with benefits. What do you really think was once there? ”

Xellos stiffened. Ah, Lina was as selfish as ever. She fairly radiated her wants and needs as she stepped forward and went back to her cloying game, her fingers plucking lightly at the fabric of his shirt. “That’s a secret,” he said coldly.

His chilly response did not seem to deter her. “Can’t you tell me your secrets?” she whispered, leaning against him and standing on tiptoe to kiss the side of his neck. He tried to move away, but she wrapped her arms around him, sliding a hand inside of his shirt and letting her fingers dance up his spine.

“No,” he breathed, trying to get away. He desperately searched for a deterrent. “Lecia,” he said, frantic. “Surely you don’t want her to see. . .”

“See what?” Lina murmured, pressing her chest against his ribs. Her hand began to fiddle with his trousers and he recoiled.

“No, please,” he repeated.

“You’re playing my game now, trickster priest,” she growled, gripping him roughly.

He fought down the disgust he felt and shook his head, finally understanding that she would not accept his refusal to meet her human need. “I am afraid, Miss Lina, that I play no one else’s games,” he replied, and disappeared from the physical plane.

Well, so much for breakfast, he thought to himself as he materialized on a mountaintop. The cold wind whipped his hair into his face, the snow nearly blinding him. He blinked about, squinting at the arctic peaks that jutted above the clouds all around him. Somewhere in this wasteland were the remnants of his Lord Ruby-Eye, encased until he could be revived. Once he had wanted Lord Ruby-Eyes resurrection very much, but so much had changed since then. He found that he dreaded the Dark Lord’s return, for it meant the destruction of his daughter and Lina.

He pushed away his thoughts of Lina and tried to forget that he had been with her just moments before. A shiver ran up his arms and he realized his hands ached. Funny, he hadn’t even noticed his fists had been clenched. The discomfort only focused his attention more firmly on Lina, however, and he hung his head in defeat. It wasn’t fair that where he had once felt such passion, such burning, he now felt only disgust. Lina had lit up his world, but now, as a creature of destruction, he preferred the dark.

“Dammit,” he whispered to himself, summoning his cloak to him and wrapping it around him. He sat down heavily in the snow and drew his knees up to his chest, burying his face in the enclosure made there as he pulled his cloak over him. There, in the heart of Dynast’s territory, hundreds of miles from any other being, it was almost possible to forget what was happening. If he closed his eyes and just listened to the settling of snow on his shoulders he could almost feel like a full Monster again. Almost, of course, was the operative word. No matter how he tried to ignore it, the only human emotion left to him was longing. He couldn’t love or hate, but he would long to do so. He had no choice but to run from that longing, for as a Monster it would never be fulfilled.

Standing with a sigh, he shook off the snow and peered out at the darkening sky. Lina was probably having a fit. Even as strong as she was she posed no threat to him, but he still didn’t fancy going home to her wrath. He knew she wouldn’t be happy that he had disappeared on her in the middle of her advances. As if that alone wasn’t enough to make her try to kill him, he had also left Lecia in her care. If she was angry about him cutting out on her before, she’d be furious about being left alone with the baby. Xellos closed his eyes and moaned, cursing himself for not snatching up the child before he left. Then again, she really hadn’t left him a choice, had she?

Still, something had to be done. Lina had nowhere else to go and neither did he. He could always abandon his odd little family, but he had a feeling that letting Lina and his offspring out of his sight would not please his mistress. If only there was a way for him to become close to Lina again. Since they were stuck together anyway it only made sense to try and make it bearable. If he was human, if he could feel something, anything, there wouldn’t be a problem. . .

An idea came to him like a slap in the face, and he knew that he had to be out of it because the thought should have occurred to him before. The rings, he still had the rings. If Lina could be persuaded to wear hers once more he could at least share her emotions. Feeling what she felt might just be enough. It would give him insight into her, at the very least. Lina, however, had thrown her ring away. She didn’t want it anymore. Would she really take it back?

He pulled the rings out of his shirt and held them aloft. The metal clanged together in the violent, icy winds, the amurium cold and dull in the wintry light. He really had no choice but to give hers back if he was to keep them both from going mad. How was he supposed to give it back to her? He examined the rings for a few moments more, schemes roiling in his manipulative skull, then he exhaled slowly and shut his eyes. No, the time for games was over. He needed to know what Lina thought and felt, and he needed to learn if she was willing to stick it out with him. A choice, then; he would give her a choice and live with the consequences of her decision. A small smile crossed his face at the thought. Once again, Lina’s choices would determine the lives of others. Well, he had lived with it so far, he might as well try his luck again. Clutching the rings in his hand and his resolve hardened, he headed back to his quarters in Xellas’ stronghold to put his plan into action.

Lina blinked in disbelief as Xellos faded from underneath her hands, anger and hurt immediately ripping through her. “That little slimeball!” she cried, storming over to the counter and slamming her fists down on it. She choked down her rage and disappointment, growling as she turned slowly. Lecia’s eyes met hers, eyes so much like Xellos’, and promptly began to fill with tears.

“Aaaah!” Lecia sobbed, dropping the lid of the pot she had been playing with.

Lecia’s cry drove all other thoughts from Lina’s head and she stepped back in alarm, watching the child wail. What was going on and what was she supposed to do about it? She had never been alone with Lecia before, and she found that she really didn’t want to be there at present, either. “Uh, hey,” she said tentatively, reaching out a hand. “Stop crying, okay?”

“Dada!” Lecia screeched, her face going red.

Lina felt her forehead grow warm as her stress level rose, the child’s body starting to shake with emotion. She moved slowly toward the little girl, gingerly picking up the small body and stroking Lecia’s thick, dark hair. “Hush,” Lina murmured awkwardly. “It’s okay.”

Lecia’s chubby arms wrapped around Lina’s neck and the child buried her face in her mother’s shoulder, small whimpering sounds sill issuing forth. Lina was aware of a strange warmth passing through her, an odd tenderness taking her over as she held her child. The tiny body was warm, soft, and oh so fragile, and Lina could hardly believe how much Lecia had grown since birth. “There, there,” she whispered to her daughter, feeling for the first time like they were truly kin. She was a mother; her child’s life and happiness were in her hands and yet she had only just realized it.

“Mama,” Lecia breathed, snuggling against Lina’s shoulder.

Lina smiled in spite of herself and patted the child’s back. “That’s right, forget all about that nasty father of yours,” she cooed. She bounced Lecia tentatively, trying to cheer the child up. Lecia giggled a little and wiped her eyes with her tiny fists. Lina grinned and began to make silly noises, which seemed to amuse Lecia greatly. “Who needs that rotten Xellos?” she asked the baby, holding the child aloft and laughing. Lecia simply squirmed and burbled back, not a care in the world.

The day passed surprisingly quickly, and Lina realized for the first time just how much she had come to depend on Xellos for Lecia’s care. She had taken the little girl down to the beach and let her run around for several hours, coming awake with a start and looking around frantically. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep in the sun, and when Lecia was nowhere in sight she felt panic rip through her body. “Lecia!” she had screamed, honest terror gripping every muscle in her body as she waded into the water. “No, please, no,” she whispered like a mantra, tears starting to form in her eyes. Just a few hours before they had been building castles in the wet sand, the sunlight shining off of her daughter’s thick, silky, dark hair. How could this have happened? How could she have been so negligent? She was just starting to like her daughter, to appreciate the feeling of that tiny body pressed so trustingly against hers, and now she was gone forever.

“Mama?” a small voice had said on the beach behind her, and she had turned to see Lecia toddling down the beach toward her. Lina uttered an inarticulate cry of relief and lunged at the child, sweeping her up into her arms and touching her to make sure she was all right.

“Where were you?” Lina growled into the child’s hair, squeezing her eyes shut tightly.

Lecia squirmed and pointed off towards the house, where a neat little pile of sticks had been built. “House,” she said with a grin.

Lina rested Lecia against her hip and walked up the beach to the pile of sticks, looking down. The sticks were arranged so that they made a tidy little corral with half a roof, and trapped inside was the largest beetle Lina had ever seen in her life. “Lookie?” Lecia said, pointing at the beetle.

Lina set down the child and peered at the beetle. It was as large as her hand, and she had no idea how Lecia had managed to trap it. “Good job,” she said haltingly, glancing over at her daughter. Lecia’s face was screwed up in concentration and her gaze seemed far away. “Are you okay?” she asked slowly, not really wanting to hear the answer. As angry as she was at Xellos right now, she wish that he was around to take care of the child.

Lecia’s brow furrowed even more deeply and she turned her large, amethyst eyes on Lina. “Poo,” she growled, her nose wrinkling.

Lina’s eyes widened in horror. “Poo?”

The child’s round face began to turn red and she shifted her weight in discomfort. “Poo, Mama,” she groaned, pulling at her diaper. “Aaaah!”

“No, no, no,” Lina chanted in alarm, stretching out her hands and picking up the little girl, holding her at arm’s length. Oh no, Lecia needed to be changed, and Lina didn’t really know how. Damn that Xellos for leaving her alone to deal with this!

Lecia squirmed. “Aaaa! Mama!” she wailed, still trying to pull at the cloth of her diaper.

“Dammit,” Lina hissed, carrying the child into the house stiffly.

Half an hour later she felt she had done a passable job, although the new diaper was not nearly as well-done as the previous one had been. Lecia seemed happy and giggly, so they spent some time on the floor of the parlor, playing blocks and looking at picture books.

“Where is that man?” Lina growled a few hours later as she paced the room, Lecia pressed against her chest. Her rage at Xellos had faded somewhat, and now a sense of worry was creeping up her spine. Xellos certainly wasn’t the most reliable fellow, but he had been very good about taking care of her and Lecia, and it was odd that he hadn’t returned. The child was wailing and couldn’t be calmed, which made Lina clench her teeth. If Xellos had been there he would have known exactly what to do, she was sure of it. She, however, had tried playing with Lecia, taken her for a walk through the trees by the house, fed her, changed her again, and nothing seemed to work. Not that the walk hadn’t been educational; fragments of stone littered the ground and there were several scorch marks, not to mention the magical barriers that had been put up all over the place. Those, along with the repair of the kitchen, must have kept Xellos busy all night. She only vaguely remembered the attack, her memory mostly filled with the feeling of Xellos’ strong arms wrapping around her and carrying her into the house. Odd, how she could feel safest with a demon. Still, there had been that unpleasant nonsense that morning and Xellos had disappeared. What was wrong with him? Why didn’t he want her? A scowl creased her forehead and she bounced the crying baby once again. No matter, she didn’t need that bastard, not at all.

Lecia’s renewed wailing startled her from her angry thoughts, the sound exhausting her. Feeling defeated, she plopped down on the couch and reclined, settling the child on her chest. Lecia squirmed a little, then her fussing began to quiet. Lina looked down at the child, surprised at Lecia’s newfound tranquility, then realized the child was exhausted. A short laugh burst from her chest as she shook her head. “So you were crying because you were tired,” she muttered. “And here I was, trying to play with you when all you wanted was rest.”

Lecia only let out a little sigh as her eyes slid shut. Lina smiled and set her hand on her daughter’s back, feeling oddly warm and soft as she felt the little lungs expand and contract beneath her touch. “Good idea,” she whispered, and in a few moments was asleep herself.

She woke up early the next morning when Lecia began to move, realizing they had spent the entire night sleeping on the couch. Wrapping an arm around the child to keep her steady, she stretched and pressed her lips to the baby’s head, closing her eyes and inhaling Lecia’s sweet scent. Lecia giggled and wrapped her fists in Lina’s hair with a great sigh, apparently content to just be near her mother. Lina gently removed her hair and set Lecia on the carpet, who then rubbed her eyes and began to totter around. Smiling, Lina leaned against the back of the couch and rubbed her own face until she realized something was sitting on the low table in front of the couch. It was an envelope, the fine linen envelope bulging as if something other than paper was inside. Picking it up gingerly, she found that it was heavy and her name was written in a tidy yet elegant script on the front of the envelope. Upon opening it she felt dread spread through her. It was undoubtedly from Xellos, and as such she wasn’t certain she wanted to read what was inside. She left whatever was heavy in the envelope, careful not to peek, and pulled out the letter.

“Miss Lina,” it read. “I apologize for any distress I may have caused you. My refusal of your affections was not motivated by a desire to hurt you. I hope that you and Lecia have gotten along well in my absence.

“Please do your best not to be angry with me. I will try to ease your anger and pain in any way possible. I only ask that you try and listen to me when I explain my actions. Explanation does not excuse them, but I am hoping that you will know where I am coming from, and therefore will be less confused and frustrated.

“I dearly hope you know that I have only the best of intentions where you and our daughter are concerned. I never meant to keep you prisoner here on this island or shape your life in any way. Simply decide what you want and I will make it so, even if it means that you will no longer be sharing your life with me. Enclosed you will find a pair of amurium rings; I think you will recognize them. Keep them or destroy them as you wish. I will return in the evening to hear your decision.

“Fondest regards, Xellos.”

Lina fought down a strange lump in her throat and inspected the second sheet of the letter, which was a detailed process on how to destroy the rings. He had enclosed his ring as well as hers, which she had thought lost. How like him to find hers and keep it without her knowledge. Still, the method of destroying the rings was long, complicated, and irreversible, obviously. Destroying them would mean she would leave Xellos forever. Once that bridge was burned she could not come back.

She cursed her fate for the millionth time, wishing she had been able to stay with Gourry. Things would have been so different with him, and she wouldn’t be stuck with a Monster for a live-in. Still, she had made her bed, now she had to decide how long she was going to lie in it. She knew that if she kept on thinking about the “if only” she’d either go mad or grow old without having lived her life to the fullest.

Lecia giggled, having encountered her blocks, and Lina sighed. Lecia was the cause of this. No, she admitted, her inability to stay away from Xellos was the cause of this. She didn’t know what it was about him that drew her so, but it did, and it was the exact opposite of what had drawn her to Gourry. She loved Gourry because he was so dependable, so big and strong, and loyal to the core. Xellos was oddly irresponsible, although he seemed to be loyal now, but how could she be sure? How could she really trust him? Even if she didn’t trust him, could she really just abandon Lecia? After all, now she had seen the child growing, and she had to admit to being curious as to how the girl would turn out. Plus, the child was hers, truly hers. She could say that about precious little at present. Could she honestly just throw that away?

She extracted the rings with a slightly unsteady hand, feeling the cold, heavy metal in the palm of her hand. She couldn’t decide if it felt like a blessing or a curse. “Mama!” Lecia cried from the floor. “Lookie!”

Lina smiled down at the child, nodding at the little pyramid she had made with her blocks. “Very good,” Lina replied, glancing down at the rings in her hand. “I think you did a great job.” She crouched down next to her daughter and put the rings on the table. They would be dealt with soon enough.

She was on the floor of the parlor, pointing out pictures in books to Lecia, when she heard the door open and shut somewhere in the house. A courtesy, she supposed, since she knew he didn’t have to use the door. A quick glance told her the rings were well out of sight, and before long his booted footsteps came closer, coming to a stop behind her in the entrance to the room. Lina was content to ignore him for a while longer, still bitter about his escape and the fact that he left her alone with the baby, but she couldn’t help but feel she had done well with the child. Lecia, however, had other ideas, squealing when she saw her father and immediately tottering over to him. “Dada, Dada!” she cried, going over and latching on to his pant leg. Lina slowly turned around and fixed him with her most distant gaze, quietly studying his face. His sharp features were softened somewhat in the candlelight, but his expression was far from relaxed. Xellos smiled down at the child and leaned his staff against the doorway, scooping her up and holding her casually in his arms.

“I’ve returned, Miss Lina,” he said softly, his low, silky voice winding its way through the still air of the room.

A million different emotions surged within her, none of them easy to confront. “I can see that,” she replied curtly.

He looked at her a moment with his depthless amethyst gaze, then returned his attention to his daughter. “Were you a good girl for Mama?” he crooned to the child, stroking her chin with his gloved hand.

“Ya,” she giggled, grabbing at his finger.

“Excellent,” he whispered, puzzling Lina as he closed his eyes and buried his nose in the child’s dark, soft hair. Lina remained sitting on the floor, studying him with slightly narrowed eyes. It was funny, seeing him act so obviously worried. In all the years she had known him he had only shown a few states of mind, most of which rarely revealed what he was truly thinking. Now, however, he had dropped all pretenses. It was as if he knew that the time for masks had passed, and he was letting her see what was happening inside his head. She didn’t need the rings to know that he was worried. “Come, little one,” he continued to coo, taking up his staff with his hand as he shifted Lecia onto one arm. “It’s going to storm tonight.”

“We’ll be fine, what with all the barriers you put up,” Lina said, looking down at the book lying open on the carpet.

She caught a slight hitch in his movement. “As observant as ever, I see,” he murmured, setting Lecia down on the couch and proceeding to dispose of his cloak and staff. These actions were also unnecessary for him, she realized. If he wanted to he could simply will away his clothing and staff, since she had seen him do it before. She wondered briefly if his charade of humanity was for her, Lecia, or his own peace of mind. “Still,” he continued, startling her from her thoughts, “We had best make sure all the windows are shut tightly.”

“Then you’d better hop to it,” she replied sharply, reaching up and absently tickling the little girl’s foot, making her giggle.

Xellos nodded with pursed lips, and she watched as he stole a glance at her neck. His expression rippled with some unknown emotion, then he turned his back to her and left the room. She could hear him rifling about and shutting windows, sealing the house up for the tropical storm that was on its way. When he returned he was carrying in his hands the brown leather bag he sometimes wore around his body. He hadn’t taken it off when he entered the room and was rummaging through it, finally coming to rest on the couch next to Lecia. The crown of his head shone in the candlelight, his thick, silky hair falling around his face as he dug through the bag, finally producing several parcels. “I brought presents,” he murmured, casually handing Lina several.

“Dada!” Lecia cried, crawling into his lap and trying to peek into the bag.

“Ah ah,” he replied, shaking his head. “You only get these.” Out of the satchel came several more parcels, wrapped in tissue and ribbon.

Lecia snatched them out of his hands and began to tear at the paper, having long ago learned how to open the multitudes of presents her father brought home. Lina suspected that sometimes Xellos wrapped things they had lying around the house and gave them to the child, since Lecia seemed to enjoy the act of unwrapping better than what was inside. “Eeee!” Lecia exclaimed with glee as she pulled out a stuffed animal toy. It was a little dragon, with big, round eyes and fuzzy wings. Lecia pulled the plush animal close and squeezed it, burying her face in its neck. Still holding on to the toy, she ripped into the other presents, pulling out a strange crystal top and a darling little sundress.

“She can’t cut herself on that top, can she?” Lina asked quickly, suddenly having horrible visions of Lecia running through shattered crystal.

Xellos shook his head, his secretive smile stealing across his sculpted lips. “No, she can’t,” he murmured. “Please don’t forget that I’ve brought you something as well.”

Lina glanced at the packages she had set aside. Of course their presence had been driving her crazy, and it had taken every single ounce of willpower she had not to rip into them even more quickly than her daughter had. “Oh, right,” she said nonchalantly, trying to keep her fingers from twitching as she reached for the gifts. After all, Xellos usually brought her beautiful things, and price was rarely an object. The first couple were simply delicacies from this place or that, her mouth watering immediately, and then a rare book on herb lore. He must have had to dig for the book, for it looked ancient and was still slightly covered with dust. The final package was the smallest, but also very heavy. “What’s this, solid gold?” she said, voice snide as she ripped it open. Inside was a lovely box about the size of her hand and about as thing. Slowly prying it open, she blinked as a sparkling jewel on a chain emerged. It was an amethyst the size of her palm, set in glistening, delicate gold. It was the largest gem she had ever seen, and the jewel was absolutely flawless, its color deep and true. The value of it staggered her, and although she knew she would never wear it, she treasured such a rare, expensive piece of jewelry. “Thanks,” she breathed, trying not to look flabbergasted.

“I’m pleased you like it,” he murmured as Lecia crawled into his lap, resting her head against his chest as she clung to the toy dragon.

“Yeah, I do,” she replied, looking away. His scrutiny was making her uncomfortable. Why was he examining her so, anyway? Didn’t he have anything else to do?

Minutes passed like years as she idly examined her gifts, thankful that she had something else to do besides look at him. His presence was drawing her to him like gravity, and she hated him for it. When she finally did hazard a glance at him a smile broke out on her face. “She’s asleep,” Lina mouthed.

Xellos looked down at his lap, his face softening as he confirmed Lina’s words. He stood in a fluid motion, child suddenly in his arms, and disappeared. Lina took the opportunity to fetch the rings from behind one of her books and cup them in her hands. By the time he returned from putting their daughter down she was safely back on the rug, paging through the book he had given her, the rings concealed in her fist curled against the floor. “You’re sunburned,” he said, voice slightly thicker.

Lina started to shrug, then yelped as he put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey!” she said sharply, her burned skin throbbing. She was okay as long as she didn’t move, but Xellos’ touch was setting of sirens of pain in her head.

“How did you get burned?”

“Not everyone tans like you do, mister,” she growled, then remembered that he didn’t have skin anymore, technically. “Er, like you used to, I mean.”

She was grateful when he let the comment pass, instead producing a bottle of ointment from nowhere. “Did you fall asleep in the sun?”

“Yeah,” she hissed as he removed his gloves and began to spread the gel on her skin. The stuff was cool and his touch was gentle, immediately soothing her pain. “Yeah,” she moaned, leaning into his caress.

“I’m pleased you like it,” he said, breath against the curve of her ear. She sighed and leaned into him as he slid the straps of her shirt off of her shoulders and began to rub gel on her. His cheek pressed against her skull and she felt him clench his jaw slightly. “Lina, I want to take you away from here.”

Lina snorted in amusement, closing her eyes and focusing on his gentle touch and the soothing effect of whatever it was he was spreading on her. “To where?”

“The shore. Away from Xellas.”

He feared for her safety, that was obvious. “Fine. Where?”

“Wherever you want. I’ll buy you whatever house you like, or have one built if nothing meets your wants and needs.”

Again Lina grunted a short laugh. It was just her luck that the man that wanted to sweep her off her feet, take care of her forever, and lavish her with expensive things wouldn’t be a prince in shining armor on a white horse but one of the world’s most powerful and merciless demons. “We’ll look soon, then,” she murmured, leaning back into him. No heartbeat sounded within his chest, nor did breath stir within his ribs. “You know, sometimes I forget what you are,” she said softly, keeping her eyes shut. “I keep thinking that this is all a bad dream, that someday I’ll wake up and only have to see-”

“You don’t need to finish,” he said, his voice slightly edged. “I’m well aware that if you had your way, I would not be the man you would wake up to. I don’t believe anything else needs to be said.”

“Fine, mister smartypants,” she growled, but her stomach was feeling a bit nauseous. After all, she had just realized that she didn’t necessarily know who it was she wanted to wake up next to. Sometimes she just had to go with it. “You know, though, I still think a lot about the time in the cabin.”

“I do, too. More than I’d like to.”

“It’s hard for me to believe that you’re really a Monster, sometimes. You’re so good at being human.”

She opened her eyes and sat upright as he pulled away, slowly rolling up his shirt sleeve. Without warning he pulled out a short blade and scratched his skin, dark blood welling out of the cut. “I’m not, though,” he murmured, watching as the wound parted slightly to show dark, roiling astral matter. “This body isn’t even remotely similar to my true form.”

“What do you really look like?” she whispered, curious and afraid at the same time.

Xellos retreated a bit onto the astral plane, the lines of his physical body becoming faint, blurry, and slightly transparent. His form began to swirl, and for the briefest of moments she thought she saw a dark, massive, cone-like shape. “That, sort of,” he murmured, glancing down at his arm. There was no evidence his skin had ever been pierced at all. He edged up behind her again, cooling her skin with the strange gel, then sighed and rested his forehead on the back of her skull. “Miss Lina,” he began, voice faint.

She knew what he was going to ask and slowly took his hand from her shoulder, curling it within her own. His body stiffened and she knew he had recognized what she was pressing into his palm. “Here,” she whispered, unable to speak any louder in the magnitude of her decision.

“Lina,” he breathed, taking the ring from her reverently. “This could be dangerous for you.”

She shrugged, ignoring the pain response her sunburn sent to her brain. “Like it matters now.”

“No, really. I’m not sure that I want you to feel what I feel...”

“If it’ll help us avoid stupid incidents like the one yesterday morning I’m all for it,” she growled. “Maybe. . . Maybe this way you can at least experience what I’m feeling. Perhaps you’ll be able to feel a little bit human again.”

“Being a Monster is different.”

Anger flared up within her. “You can talk all you want, but I’m stuck with you, and I’ll be damned if I pass up an opportunity to make this situation less hellish for us.”

“But-”

“Shut up,” she snapped, snatching his hand and pressing the ring against his skin. She clasped her own ring tightly and did her best to call to him through the amurium’s magic. There was a strange swirling feeling, just like she had felt the day she had given birth to Lecia, and light began to pour between her fingers. Her head felt light and still she reached, blinking rapidly to maintain her concentration. It was as if her brain was speeding along a tunnel, the light getting brighter and brighter... Then the light stopped and she had the sensation of floating in darkness. It was cold and empty, more silent and dead than anything she had ever known in her entire existence. The pure void of it made her physically ill and frightened her, especially since it chilled her so, froze her to the very core. Yet the void was not peaceful; somewhere, along the edges, was warmth. She tried to pull it to her, to have any sort of light or heat in the darkness she floated in, but every time she reached toward it, it disappeared like smoke. It was there, just beyond the edge of her perception, and yet it remained maddeningly out of reach. Desperation overtook her and she realized that she would do anything, anything at all, to not feel alone and isolated anymore.

From far away a voice spoke to her, but so horrified was she by the hollowness around her that she couldn’t make out the words. The voice came closer and closer until she could finally hear “Lina, please let go.”

She came to with a gasp, feeling the ring being pried out of her fingers, the action accompanied by a clap of thunder as the rain began to pour down outside. Sitting in the dim light, she stared at Xellos, dumbfounded. The storm rattled the windows and pelted their house with moisture, but Lina was barely aware of that as she studied the man in front of her. “Is that how it always was?”

He looked at her levelly, slitted eyes glistening in the shadows of his thick bangs. “I suppose, with the exception of human feeling at the fringes. Now that you’ve experienced what I feel, or rather don’t feel, every day, imagine how it must have been to have that void filled with emotion, only to have it drained and taken just out of reach.”

For once she had nothing to say. There were no words she could comfort him with, nor did she know how to help. “I’m sorry,” she said softly.

“Now do you understand?” he asked, scooting closer to her.

“I think I understand more than I’d like to.”

He was silent for a while, his hands resting on her thighs. “I apologize, Lina,” he finally murmured. “I’m sorry that I can’t be what we both want me to be.”

She leaned back into him, closing her eyes and inhaling his clean scent. He always smelled so good. “It’s not your fault. We’ll make do.”

“Ah.”

Thoughts swirled through her head, her brain turning her life over and over as if it were a coin to be appraised. Things could have been so different if she’d made choices other than the ones that had come to pass. Still, this was what she was stuck with, and she just had to deal with it. Besides, there were good aspects to this relationship as well. Xellos lived to serve, and he took care of all the details of daily life that she didn’t care for. He kept a spotless house, was an able chef, looked after the child, kept her clothed, and not only provided her with any and all study materials she requested, but was also a fascinating conversationalist. Sure, he was a demon devoid of any emotion, but which was more important to her, human warmth, like Gourry, or someone she could feel was on her level, like Xellos? A sigh escaped her as she realized she’d never know, and it didn’t matter anyway. She was stuck with her daughter and Xellos, and that was that. It occurred to her as she leaned against him that the ointment he had rubbed her with had done the trick. She couldn’t even feel her sunburns anymore. “Xellos,” she breathed, turning around in his lap so that she was curled against him.

“Yes?”

“I’m tired.”

“I’ll leave you be, then.”

She watched the rain patter against the windows for a few moments, then shook her head. “No, don’t. Come to bed with me.”

“I know the rings will let me feel what you do, but I don’t know if I’m ready for that.”

Scowling, she swatted at him. “Not that, silly. I just want you there while I sleep.”

He stood with a single, smooth motion and all the candles in the room went dark with a glance. “Very well,” he murmured, and carried her to her room.

Lina slowly came awake as she became aware of a gentle touch caressing her cheek, her eyelids fluttering open. She blinked rapidly in the light coming through the gauzy curtains of the windows and leaned into the pleasant contact, meeting a pair of slitted, amethyst eyes gazing down at her with surprising tenderness. Xellos was stroking her cheek with his long fingers, tracing the lines of her nose and the swell of her lips. “You are so very beautiful,” he murmured.

She smiled and stretched against him, reveling in the feel of his strong, smooth body next to hers in bed. “Morning,” she mumbled in response, then felt him cup her cheek again. His face was oddly open, the sharp lines softened by a quiet smile as he briefly pressed his lips to her forehead. The solidity of his body pressed against her was comforting, and she exhaled as she nuzzled against him. “I can’t believe this physical body of yours isn’t real. It feels much too solid to be a magical construction.”

“And yet it is,” he replied, clearing strands of hair out of her face. “I find that for you I want to make my magic as convincing as possible.”

“Good.”

He propped himself up on an elbow and gazed down at her for long moments, his dark, silky hair falling about his face in thick curtains. “As a Monster,” he murmured, “I am not supposed to feel much of anything, let alone for mortals, nor are we supposed to want things for ourselves. Everything we do, think, feel, et cetera must be for the advancement of the goals of our race.”

Lina raised an eyebrow, looking up at him. “So?”

A smile once again graced his lips, the expression tender, bitter, and sad simultaneously. “As a Monster I cannot love you, but I want you near me. I care for you and only wish for your happiness. I would give up my immortality to be with you, if the choice was mine.”

It was strange, hearing such sincere words from a mouth so well-known for deceit, but for some reason she believed him. Something leapt in her chest and she felt heat spread through her cheeks. “Xellos,” she whispered, burying her face in his neck to hide her blush.

He kissed the top of her head and moved away from her, sliding out of bed. Once again he had slept with no clothes on, and she marveled at the fact that his body was exactly like it had been when he was human. It seemed as though something should differentiate the human body from the Monster physical form, but she couldn’t find any sort of difference. No, he was just as lithe and beautiful as he always had been. She also knew that he didn’t have to bother with clothes, garments just being an extension of the magic of his physical body, but he did so out of courtesy for her. He bent to pick up his trousers, which she suspected he had just summoned out of her line of sight, and suddenly she didn’t want him to go. “No,” she said, reaching out a hand and grabbing his wrist.

He turned to look at her, his slitted gaze steady. “Miss Lina, there are things I must do. Remember, I am still just a servant. I am not free to do whatever I like, whenever I would like to.”

“Don’t leave, not yet,” she continued, her eyes traveling upward to rest on the ring dangling from around his neck. From there her gaze moved downward over the cleft of his chest and the tight muscles of his abdomen, then to his firm thighs. She took her hand from the cool skin of his wrist and felt her blush deepen and she quickly averted her eyes.

Xellos sighed and released his trousers, standing up straight and putting his hands on his hips. She wasn’t certain, but the expression on his face seemed a bit worried. “I really must be off.”

Lina took a deep breath and gripped her ring tightly, letting her feelings pour into the metal. Light began to leak between her fingers and she heard Xellos inhale sharply as the ring on his chest began to glow. He turned his head and looked at her, expression focused as he took her in. She wanted him and let him know it, she wanted him near her, holding her. It seemed as if she had felt alone for so long, and she had come to realize that, even as a Monster, Xellos could offer her something Gourry couldn’t: understanding. “Xellos,” she breathed, concentrating all her desire into the ring.

Xellos’ cheeks flushed and he closed his eyes, body trembling. “I don’t know if I can,” he panted. “It’s so empty...”

“It won’t be for me,” she growled, sitting up in bed. She reached over and grabbed him by the waist, pulling him to her. His skin tasted exactly like it had before as she ran her tongue over his stomach. “Just feel what I feel.”

“Miss Lina,” he gasped as she pulled him back onto the bed.

“I have to spend the rest of Lecia’s childhood with you,” she growled. “I am NOT going to go that many years without getting laid.”

Xellos stared at her, eyes wide as she pushed him down on his back. “It still won’t be like it was,” he protested. “I don’t think I’m ready-”

“I’m ready,” she breathed. “And since you’re feeling what I feel, the more you pleasure me, the closer you come to experiencing human ecstasy.”

“But-”

“I never knew you were a coward,” she murmured, leaning forward and shutting him up with a kiss. His mouth tasted just as sweet as she remembered, his lips soft and yielding against hers. She pushed her tongue inside him and ran it along the edge of his teeth, happy that his physical form was so complete and realistic. His body tensed beneath her and she felt him become hard. Not wasting any time, she reached down and forced him into her. A gasp left her and she felt her body heat rise, slowly beginning to move on top of him. Looking at his face, she noticed he wore an expression of deep concentration, his eyes closed and his hands clamped down on her hips. She placed her palms flat on his chest, throwing her head back and arching as she worked her pelvis. Xellos inhaled sharply and mimicked her movements, his fingers moving up to her breasts. Little tendrils of pleasure raced through her body as he fondled her nipples, and it was gratifying to hear his noises echo her own, The fire in her abdomen began to build and she rode him more fiercely, a long moan escaping her as she moved along his length. “Can you feel that?” she asked, voice husky as she looked at him from beneath half-lowered eyelids.

“Ah,” was his response as he suddenly moved, tipping her onto her back. He held her hips above his thighs and pounded into her at an angle, lifting her ankles over his shoulders. Her muscles clenched at the new position and she cried aloud, sitting up partially and gripping his muscular arms with all her might. His elbows locked and he clenched his jaw, eyes shut tight. Pleasure ripped through her body and she arched again, tumbling noisily over her limit. Xellos’ eyes popped open and he shuddered, pressing himself into her as deeply as she could handle as she spasmed over and over again.

She shut her eyes and collapsed in his arms, breathing heavily and feeling her heartbeat pound away in every blood vessel in her body. A moan left her as he gently withdrew and laid her down on the mattress, smoothing the sweaty strands of hair from her face. Reaching up, she grasped him behind the neck and pulled him down to her, wrapping her body around him in an embrace. “Xellos,” she murmured into his hair, inhaling his clean scent, trying not to notice that it was the same as before they had started making love. Another spasm shook her body and she swallowed, waiting until it had passed to speak again. “Was that better?”

“Yes,” he rasped against her sweaty chest. “It was almost...”

“Almost what?”

“Almost like I was human again. Almost like it was real.”

“Do you think you can handle it from now on?”

“Yes,” he replied, voice barely above a whisper. “You were right, it’s enough.”

She grinned and held him tightly. “I’m always right. You should know that by now.”

“Ah, yes, the famous Inverse humility comes to the surface again,” he murmured with a smile, pushing himself off of her. “And, as much as I would like to sample your humanity again and again, I fear I must run along.”

“What are you doing today?”

He chuckled as he slid off the bed and onto the floor, summoning his clothing with a wave of his hand. “That’s a secret,” he replied, adjusting his shirt in the waistband of his pants. “However, I’ll take you to shore before long. Can you be ready in an hour?”

“I think so. Why are you taking me there?”

He turned and looked at her, features suddenly hard and eyes serious. “Because I will not tolerate you being in danger here on the island. I would like you to select either a house you like or a spot of land on which we can build the sort of house you’d like. I plan to move us into town as soon as possible.”

She nodded. “And Lecia?”

“Xellas will look after her,” he replied, reaching over to where his staff was propped against her wardrobe and grasping it.

“Is that really a good idea?”

“My mistress, for whatever reason, is very interested in our daughter’s welfare. Truth be told, she’s safer with Xellas than with either of us. Besides, you don’t fancy wandering around the city with a baby in tow, do you?”

“No,” Lina agreed, pulling the sheet up over her as she watched him fasten his cloak.

“Then I shall return for you in an hour,” he replied, coming back over to the bed and planting a kiss on the crown of her head.

“Okay,” she answered, and watched as he vanished from the room.

An hour later Lina opened her eyes tentatively, afraid that something had happened during their trip. She had teleported with Xellos before, but never for so far or so long. It wasn’t that it hurt, or that it even felt like anything, but the experience was still unnerving. Xellos would protect her, of course, but that didn’t ease her worry. They had made it to the outskirts of town safe and sound, however, and with no one in sight to observe their arrival. “Here you are,” he said gently, running his fingers through her hair. She quickly stepped away from him, embarrassed at his physical affection, even though she liked it and knew that was the only reason he gave it to her. It certainly wasn’t like he had any real affection to give, after all.

“And I’m just supposed to look for a house?” she asked, shading her eyes as she looked at the city.

“That or find a spot where you’d like to build one,” he replied, standing near enough next to her that she was aware of his proximity to her body. “Money is no object.”

She narrowed her eyes and put her hands on her hips, eying him defiantly. “Where do you get all this money from, eh? You used to be broke all the time when we traveled together in the past.”

A slow smile spread across his face. “Well, Miss Lina, that’s-”

“And don’t tell me it’s a secret, because that’s crap. Don’t make me wring it out of you.”

A laugh escaped him and he shook his head. “I was about to say that’s changed.”

“Liar.”

“At any rate, I was able to save a fair amount of money while I was a human, and I have found that quite a few of the possessions I collected in past travels are worth quite a bit. In fact, I think I have several million to spend. It’s very important that you get someplace you like and wouldn’t mind living in. After all, your comfort is essential.”

“Darn right it is,” she growled, looking around at the surrounding countryside.

“I’ll find you later to pick you up. Please have a lovely time, and be careful.”

Lina rolled her eyes and studied the city a little longer. “Fine, fine,” she mumbled. “See ya.”

“Farewell,” he replied, and when she turned he had already vanished.

She ultimately chose a spacious manor on the outskirts of town, and Xellos had bought it, had it cleaned, and readied it for habitation within the week. Lina was hesitant to ask him how he had accomplished everything so quickly, feeling as if she was better off not knowing. After all, she could remember thinking at the time how convenient it was that she had such a large selection of vacated homes to choose from, and rumors about town had been rampant. Apparently most of the owners of the finest residences had disappeared mysteriously the day before. It was obvious to her that Xellos had a hand it the disappearances, but she felt it best not to dwell on it. Whatever he had done to those people, it could not be undone, nor could she really punish him for it. She had no proof that he had done anything at all, of course. Xellos never left any sort of evidence. Besides, even if she did manage to corner him, he would either deny everything, divert her to a new subject, or do his best to convince her he had just done it in her best interest. That last, unfortunately, would be the truth, and Lina had learned that nothing about Xellos was more dangerous than the truth.

It was strange, but she was almost sad to leave their little beach front bungalow. The peace and quiet had been wonderful, although she was itchy to get adventuring again. It had been almost two years since she had gone wandering. The little beach house had felt like home, though, and it was strange to be among so many people again. She tried not to remember the feeling of melancholy that came over her as she shut the door of the small house for the last time, holding Lecia tightly to her chest as Xellos enveloped them in his cloak and transported them to the mainland. He chose the same spot he had taken her to before, gently releasing her and taking Lecia into his arms. They walked through town as if they were a normal family, Lecia gurgling and squealing at all the new sights as Xellos tagged behind Lina. People gave them odd looks as they neared their new manor house, and when they arrived Xellos opened the gates with a wave of his staff.

Lina was newly impressed as they made their way through the gardens and to the house, having forgotten how lovely the house was. Xellos’ preparations had been perfect and everything was absolutely breathtaking. It was as if he had found a way inside her head, pried every single one of her dreams from her, and made them reality. Still, as beautiful as it was, she found herself missing Gourry’s house and his warm presence. Sure, Gourry had never given her anything material, but he had never needed to. He had confidence in her love and as such he had never tried to buy it.

She thought it odd that Xellos was trying to purchase her affection, for that’s what he was obviously doing. He was always bringing her the most rare and breathtaking items, not to mention all the books and scrolls. Every single time he returned from work he brought her something different, and if he hadn’t also given her a magical satchel to store everything in, she wouldn’t have had room for it. As it was she liked the presents, but they didn’t necessarily make her feel anything for him. No, she didn’t love him, and never would. She could never love a Monster, and this didn’t bother her since she also knew he couldn’t love her. Still, he was her friend, in an odd way, and it wasn’t so bad having him for companionship. Besides, Monster or not, he still had an incredible butt. She also was becoming quite fond of Lecia, despite her aversion to childrearing. The little girl was full of spunk and intelligence, and Lina found herself actually looking forward to talking, teaching, and playing with her daughter when she was old enough.

“Well?” she heard a voice say behind her, and she realized that her musings had filled the journey right up to the front door. “Aren’t you going to go inside?”

She turned and looked at Xellos, who was standing a few steps below her. Lecia giggled and grabbed at his heavy hair. She watched the girl for a moment, then studied Xellos’ face. His eyes were closed, as they almost always were when they were in human company, but she still could fill him watching her. “Sure,” she grumbled. “It’s not like I have a choice.”

Xellos lifted an eyebrow as she turned away and pushed open the door. The inside was just as lovely as the facade, with richly polished wooden floors, elegant chandeliers, and heavy draperies. Tasteful yet simple furniture filled the rooms and lovely works of art adorned the walls. Xellos’ booted footsteps followed her as she walked into the parlor, glancing at the gigantic windows that opened up to the garden. She sighed, appreciating the refined decor but longing for Gourry’s comfortable, somewhat shabby mess. “Miss Lina,” she heard Xellos intone behind her.

“What?”

He was at her side in an instant, gently putting Lecia down on the floor. “What’s the matter? Don’t you like it?”

“I like it fine,” she replied somewhat sharply, turning away and examining the walls. “The furniture’s beautiful.”

“I emptied my quarters on Wolfpack and relocated everything here,” he murmured. “I’m pleased that you like it, but something’s still bothering you.”

Lina scowled and grunted, shifting her cloak on her shoulders as she scowled at the wall. “Whatever.”

He stood in silence for several moments, a dark presence at her elbow. “You miss him,” he stated, voice flat.

Lina suddenly felt the urge to cry and quickly quelled it, determined not to show any weakness. “So? I’ve missed him since the moment I left.”

“But-”

“You can’t give me human warmth, Xellos, and you never will. I’ll miss him for the rest of my days.”

She heard him sigh. “I apologize,” he murmured. “I wanted it to be different. I wanted to be human and stay with you.”

“Too bad. We’re both stuck like this, so we might as well make the best of it.”

“Mama!” Lecia squealed, and they both turned to see her toddling over, holding something in her hands. It was a coal from the fireplace, and Lina crouched as Lecia held it up.

“I see,” Lina said somewhat sharply, not liking being distracted.

Lecia grinned, her gums shining, and promptly popped the coal in her mouth.

“Ah!” Lina cried, quickly grabbing the girl by her small, round shoulders. “No! Spit it out!”

Lecia just made a face and rolled her jaw around.

“That can’t taste good,” Xellos murmured by her side.

“Shut up and help me!” Lina growled, putting her fingers on either side of the child’s face and pinching. “Spit it out!”

Lecia began to cough through her nose and Xellos reached around Lina, an arm on either side of her, and gently put his fingers behind his daughter’s jaw. Pulling forward, the girl could no longer keep her mouth shut and Lina took the opportunity to fish out the coal. Lecia’s jaw began to quiver and she opened her mouth wide, wiping off her tongue with her chubby little fingers. “Aaa! Ish!” Lecia moaned, then started to whimper.

“Oh dear,” Xellos muttered. “I’ll go fetch a rag and some water.”

“Hurry up,” Lina snapped, gathering the girl up. “Don’t do things like that. They’re bad for you,” she grumbled at the child. “You shouldn’t scare Mommy and Daddy.”

Lecia just cried and rubbed her eyes, which also became sooty. By the time Xellos returned she was even more covered in black than before and wailing. He started to make little clicking noises at her, gently wiping off her face and tongue. When it seemed he had gotten as much off of her as possible he tried to make her rinse her mouth and spit the water out. He was halfway successful, and water dribbled from the child’s chin onto Lina’s shirt. Lina gasped and blinked, which made Lecia laugh, and so she spit more water onto her mother. “Oh dear,” Xellos repeated, his face cracking in a grin. He handed Lecia a bit of fruit and she promptly gobbled it up, apparently having forgotten the whole incident.

Lina just continued to blink at her soaked shirt front and the now-sticky child in her arms. “You think that’s funny, do you?” she said tightly, putting down Lecia and rounding on Xellos.

“Quite,” he replied, still grinning.

“How about this?” she asked, grabbing the glass of water out of his hand and tossing the liquid onto his chest. His eyes opened wide and he stared at her, then down at his clothes. “Is that funny?”

She should have known better than to try and get even with him. Xellos simply started to giggle and phased out for a split second, returning with another glass of water and dumping it over her head. Lina cried out with indignation and took a swing. If he had been mortal her fist would have landed, but as it was she just cuffed empty air. “I think this is great fun,” he chortled from behind her, and she turned, panting. With a snarl she rushed him, and as he moved aside he slipped on the wooden floor, which had become slick with the water that was tossed around so carelessly. He made a short noise of surprise and landed on his rear, still laughing, and Lina, who had rushed him too aggressively, toppled onto him. They lay there in a damp, squirming pile as Lecia tottered over to them, eyebrows raised. Lina groaned and looked up at her daughter, then tried to smile. Lecia gave her an almost pitying look and patted her on the head. Xellos erupted into laughter and sat up, settling an arm about Lina and pulling Lecia close with the other. “Welcome home,” he chortled, and soon all three were smiling.

Lina became used to the house soon enough, and she had to admit that she liked having servants. There weren’t too many, but there were enough people working for Xellos that she never had to cook or clean for herself. Still, as the weeks turned into months, she soon got itchy feet. No longer in the idle cocoon of the island, she found that now that she was on the continent again that she wanted to be wandering. Besides, Xellos was gone every other week or so, and that gave her far too much time to sit around and think. She hated to admit it, but she actually enjoyed having him around. He was an excellent conversationalist, and she always seemed to pick up something new with him. Also, despite the fact that he was a Monster, it was truly wonderful to watch him interact with Lecia. The little girl obviously adored him, and as their daughter grew Lina became more interested in her. It wasn’t long before she began talking properly, and before Lina could believe it, the child had turned into a tiny person.

None of that prevented Lina from striking out on her own, however. The months passed into years, and one could often find her wandering the countryside. At times she was even away for several weeks and sometimes Xellos would be home waiting for her, sometimes not. She felt slightly guilty about not staying home and watching Lecia while Xellos was on assignment, but Xellos was never gone more than a week or two, and so she felt that the child was probably well taken care of. Her journeys weren’t particularly interesting, but at least she was able to get out of the house for a while and pretend that her life hadn’t ended up with way it had. Sometimes she fantasized that she was actually setting out to return to Gourry, but she soon had to shove those sorts of thoughts out of her head. It wasn’t because she didn’t want to think about Gourry, or going home to him, but rather because instead of dreaming she was going home to his manor she would unconsciously visualize the little cabin she had shared with Xellos. The fantasies had to end because she could not stand to remember how many times she had lost what was important to her, and it displeased her that her time with human Xellos matched her time with Gourry in intensity.

Lina walked through the streets of the city, making her way slowly home after four weeks of traveling. Xellos had checked up on her on the road, always seeming to know exactly where she was and whether or not she was safe, and she had told him when to expect her. She was a few days late, but she didn’t think it would matter. Her feet knew the way home by now, and so she barely even paid attention to her surroundings. As she started up the walkway to her house she saw Xellos standing at the gate, Lecia beside him. It was difficult to believe how big the girl was growing. Was she really turning four years old in a week? Had she really been away from Gourry so long?

Lecia broke away from her father’s hand and raced down the cobblestones to her, arms spread. Lina felt herself smile, her heart lifted by the joy in her daughter’s eyes. “Mommy!” Lecia squealed, flinging herself into Lina’s arms. Lina knelt and closed her arms around the child, shutting her eyes and inhaling the slight floral scent of Lecia’s thick, silky hair. “I’m so happy you’re back!”

Lina laughed and tousled the girl’s hair. “I know I’m late. I hope you weren’t worried.”

Lecia grabbed Lina’s hand and looked up at her with shining amethyst eyes. “I wanted you to come home real bad, but Daddy said that you were coming and to be patient.”

“Did you have fun while I was gone?”

Lecia paused, her mouth scrunching up a little in thought. “Yeah, Grandma taught me a trick!”

Lina felt a cold tendril of fear race down her spine, not wanting to be reminded of all the time her child spent with the Greater Beast. “Oh?”

“Yeah, look,” Lecia said, letting go of her hand and moving a few paces ahead, turning toward Lina and trotting backwards. Her brow wrinkled for a moment and she suddenly spread her hands. “Try and hit me!”

Lina raised an eyebrow. “Lecia, I don’t think that’s a good idea...”

“Mommy!” Lecia whined. “Come on!”

“Fine,” Lina growled, talking a halfhearted swing at her child. Her eyes widened in surprise as her fist bounced off an invisible barrier. Whatever spell Xellas had taught her, Lecia had learned it well.

“See?”

“Good,” Lina said, trying to keep the anxiety out of her voice. “You did very well.”

“Will I be as strong as you someday?” Lecia asked, almost dancing in circles.

“Probably,” Lina replied, forgetting about her daughter as she drew nearer to Xellos. He hadn’t said a word during the entire exchange, but as she walked toward him she could see a slight smile on her face. “Hi,” Lina said, suddenly realizing she had actually missed him and wishing she hadn’t.

“Welcome back,” he replied softly, his eyes opening just a crack. “Lecia really missed you.”

“I know,” she murmured, Lecia still clamoring for attention in the background. “I just don’t know what to do.”

“Don’t fret.” He smiled at her once more, reaching out with a gloved hand and brushing a lock of hair off of her shoulder, then pulled her close to kiss her on the cheek. She knew he just did it to keep up appearances and make her forget that he wasn’t human, but she actually didn’t want to pretend anymore. By now she knew that they were her family, and she wanted them to be like a real family. Instead of letting him kiss her on the cheek, she moved her face and pressed her lips to his. He stiffened, then relaxed and let her wrap her arms around his neck.

“Mommy,” Lecia moaned, pulling at Lina’s cape. “Look what I can do!”

Lina broke the kiss and sighed, wishing for the millionth time that Xellos was human again. “What is it?” she snapped.

Lecia paused at the sharp tone, then shook it off and began to prance around again. “Look, I can do a cartwheel!”

She watched the child do some sort of rolling maneuver, then looked at Xellos and raised her eyebrow. “She honestly believes it’s a cartwheel,” he explained. “I didn’t see any reason to correct her.”

“Whatever,” Lina growled.

“Mommy’s hungry,” Xellos said to Lecia. “She’s been walking all day and needs to be fed.”

“Food time!” Lecia squealed, weaving between their legs as they walked into the house.

Hours later Lecia had been put to bed and Lina lay panting against Xellos’ bare chest, eyes closed as the remnants of lovemaking throbbed through the veins of her body. Throughout the years she and Xellos had rarely slept together, and when they had it was because her need had become too great. Actually, physical love with Monster Xellos was very interesting. He never, ever tired, and since his experience through the rings was completely dependent on what she was feeling, he had taken her to heights of pleasure she had not even thought possible. Still, although he brought her gratification, their unions lacked the heat they had possessed when he was human. Lina knew it wasn’t really fair to compare the experiences, but she did so anyway. She used to love it when she could feel his intensity and abandon as he moved inside of her, and although he was still just as creative, she still couldn’t shake the sense that he was simply moving through a procedure. “What will you do when I die?” she asked abruptly.

He sighed and stared at the ceiling, his outline glowing faintly in the moonlight coming through the window. “I’m not sure. I suppose the world will seem gray indeed without your mischief. In all my thousands of years you’re the most fun I’ve ever had.”

“Fun drives you, doesn’t it?”

“Always, unless I have a direct order that leaves me no options.”

“Just another reason you always toyed with us, I guess.”

“I suppose so.”

Lina lay a while more in darkness, her eyes occasionally drifting shut. “Xellos?” she murmured.

“Yes, Miss Lina?”

“It isn’t so bad. Being with you, I mean, even if you're a Monster.”

His hand rubbed her shoulder, the gentle touch sending her off to sleep even faster. “I’m glad,” he whispered as she drifted off. “I’m glad.”

The next morning she awoke to an empty bed, a brief moment of alarm overtaking her. “Xellos?” she said sharply, looking around. Suddenly worried, she clamped her hand over the ring around her neck, then heaved a sigh of relief as she realized he was still nearby. She slide out of bed and into a robe, walking down the stately hallways to the kitchen, where she found a shirtless Xellos standing next to the counter, Lecia attached to his leg.

“What’s that?” the child asked, pointing up at the counter.

“You know what that is. It’s a potato,” Xellos replied gently, his face in its usual mild expression.

“Why are you cutting it?”

“Because that’s the way Mommy likes them.”

Lecia stood up on her tiptoes and reached for the potato. “I want some.”

“I don’t want you to get cut,” Xellos replied firmly. “Please be careful.”

“But I want some!”

“You’ll get some in a bit. Please be patient.”

“I’m hungry! I want potato!”

Xellos smiled and set down the knife, scratching the back of his head with his opposite hand. “Very well, but remember that I warned you.” He took a slice of the raw vegetable and handed it to her. Lecia immediately popped it in her mouth and made a face.

“It’s icky!” she moaned, spitting it out into her hand.

“I told you it would be,” Xellos replied. “Don’t spit things out into your hand. It’s rude. You should always swallow what you chew, unless you realize it’s poisonous. Then you should spit it out as discreetly as possible, such as into your napkin, but never into your bare hand. Go clean up.”

Lecia frowned, staring at the half-chewed slice of raw potato in her hand, then happened to spy Lina standing in the doorway. “Mommy!” she cried, flinging the bit of potato aside and running over to Lina, attaching herself to her mother’s knees.

“Good morning,” Lina said, awkwardly stroking the child’s hair.

Xellos sighed and went over to where the potato scrap lay and picked it up, wiping the floor with a damp cloth and throwing the potato in the rubbish bin. “You’re up a tad early,” he said softly, washing his hands under the pump in the sink.

“That a crime?”

“Let’s play,” Lecia urged, tugging on her mother’s legs.

“Not now, little one,” Xellos said to her, then redirected his attention to Lina. “No, there’s nothing wrong with you rising a bit earlier than usual. I just hope that you are rested well.”

“I’m fine,” she mumbled, prying Lecia off her. “Go bug your Dad.”

“Daddy says he’s busy, and that if he doesn’t hurry and finish breakfast you’ll bop him on the head with a pan.”

Lina felt her eye twitch and she looked at Xellos, nostrils flared. “He said that, did he?”

“Yeah,” Lecia said, wandering back over to the counter and trying to reach the potatoes.

“Xellos, why do you tell her things like that?” Lina growled. “She’ll grow up thinking I’m some sort of violent lunatic!”

Xellos opened his eyes and raised an eyebrow, then returned to his cooking without saying a word. He gently moved the potatoes out of Lecia’s grasp and began working on breakfast again. Lina clenched her teeth and walked over to him, grabbing him by the waistband of the pants and forcing him to turn and face her. “What?” he asked.

“Why do you say those sort of things to her?” she snarled.

“Isn’t it a bit early to be getting so angry?” he asked, eyebrows raised as he brought his hands up in front of him. “Besides, Miss Lina, you are an angry lunatic.”

“Augh!” Lina cried, anger racing through her, and she grabbed the nearest thing she could find and brought it against Xellos’ skull as hard as she could. It was only after he staggered to the side that she realized she had picked up a frying pan.

“See?” Xellos said, holding his head with a hand and looking at his daughter. “That’s why you shouldn’t make Mommy angry.”

“Mommy, are you a loony tick?” Lecia asked, small face grave.

Lina felt the blood rush to her face and she hid the frying pan behind her back, smiling sweetly at her daughter and waving her free hand in the air in a gesture of dismissal. Sidling over to Xellos, she used his body as cover while she placed the pan back on the counter, then wrapped her arms around Xellos’ bare torso. “Of course not,” Lina cooed. “Xellos, dear, is your head okay?”

Xellos sighed and shook his head. “Only because I’m immortal. That would have killed anyone else.”

“Oh, hush. Gourry never complained, and he’s fine.”

Xellos tilted his head to the side as if thinking. “Actually, he complained on numerous occasions. You just never listened to him, and the only reason he hasn’t sustained brain damage is because his skull is six inches thick and he didn’t have that many brains to begin with.”

“Okay,” she said through her clenched teeth, face frozen in a false grin. “Don’t say those sorts of things in front of the kid.” She took some of Xellos’ skin between her fingers and pinched as hard as she could, twisting and wishing she could actually hurt him.

“There you go again,” he sighed.

“Mommy, are you trying to hurt Daddy?” Lecia asked, a scowl on her face.

“No,” Lina snapped, blushing and letting go of Xellos’ skin.

“Don’t you like him?”

“I like him fine.”

“She’s lying,” Xellos said with a smile.

“You shouldn’t lie,” Lecia scolded.

Lina’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. “Tell that to your father!”

Lecia blinked her large, amethyst eyes. “Why?”

Lina groaned and shook her head. “Listen, let’s back up.” She took a step away from Xellos and straightened her robe, taking a deep breath. “Good morning!” she said brightly. “What’s for breakfast?”

“It’s a secret,” Lecia piped.

Lina’s jaw dropped open. “Oh no, you taught her that?”

Xellos turned and grinned by way of response.

“It’s a secret, it’s a secret!” Lecia shouted, prancing around the table as Lina took her seat.

“Can I go back to bed and forget today ever happened?” Lina groaned, putting her head on the table. “Will you wake me up tomorrow?”

Suddenly little hands were on her shoulders. “Are you sick?”

“No, just tired,” Lina muttered. “Go play with Daddy.”

“But he’s busy, and I always play with Daddy. I want to play with you.”

“Lecia, leave her alone,” Xellos said. “Here, come help me.”

Lecia left her small, warm hand on Lina’s shoulder as she turned to look at her father. “Okay,” she muttered, dragging herself over to the counter. She handed Xellos this and that, and before long breakfast was ready. Lecia helped set the table, and then they all sat down. Lina immediately began to shovel her food away, and Lecia moved to follow suit when Xellos shot her a look.

“Ah-ah,” he said softly. “That’s not how civilized people eat.”

“Sorry,” Lecia mumbled, awkwardly positioning her silverware.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lina growled through her food.

“Lina, as precious as you can be, I will not have our daughter imitating your eating habits.”

“She’s only three!”

“She’s nearly four, and she already has better table manners than you do. I won’t see my hard work undone.”

Lina wanted to argue, but realized it would be pointless. She almost never won arguments with Xellos. Then something odd occurred to her, and it was so shocking that she sat up straight, simply staring at her plate of food.

There was silence for a few moments, and then Lecia craned her neck to look Lina in the face. “Mommy?” she asked. “Did you eat a bug?”

Lina looked at Lecia blankly for a moment, then stared at Xellos. A few seconds later she broke out into chuckles. “Is something wrong?” Xellos asked, rising partway out of his chair.

“No,” Lina laughed. “I just realized that we’ve turned into my family. This is exactly how meals at my house used to be.”

Xellos frowned, confusion written all over his face. “Very well,” he said slowly.

“My mom used to get after my dad for the way he ate all the time, and Luna would just jump right in. You wouldn’t know, because you’ve never had a family before, but it’s really funny sometimes.”

“I’m glad,” Xellos said, and the meal resumed.

A few months passed in such a manner, and Lina found herself actually enjoying the time spent with her family. She forgot that Xellos was a Monster more and more often, and that both made her happy and frightened her. Of course she still missed Gourry, but she was finally starting to feel like she had accepted her fate and was starting to like it. Xellos only had the serving staff showing up a few days a week, and so they had plenty of time to spend together, cleaning, cooking, or just piddling around in the garden. Lecia, however, had picked up disturbing habits. The girl knew quite a few spells for being so young, and once Lina had found her tormenting a rabbit in the garden. The child had the rabbit’s foot trapped in a bit of twine, and no matter how hard it tugged, Lecia wouldn’t let it go. When its struggling became to much for her, Lecia just pinned it to the ground by driving a sharp stick through its hip. The rabbit made an awful screeching sound and struggled, but Lecia just stared at it and the red blood welling from the wound. “What are you doing?” Lina cried, quickly going over to them and yanking the stick out. She gently cradled the animal, casting a healing spell, and let it go. The frightened creature moved so quickly it was almost a blur, and in a blink of an eye it was gone.

“It was eating the vegetables,” Lecia explained. “I wanted to look at it, but it tried to get away.”

“So you hurt it?”

Lecia just blinked. “Yes,” she replied, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Lina scowled. “You shouldn’t hurt things just to hurt them, or make them do what you want them to.”

“Why not?”

“Would you like it if someone hurt you to make you do what they wanted you to? Would you mind it if I drove a nail through your foot when I wanted you to stop running around?”

“How else do you make other people do stuff?”

It was then that Lina had serious doubts about letting Xellas and Xellos take care of her daughter. What were the Monsters teaching her? “You ask them, or threaten them, if you have to, but you don’t drive sticks through helpless animal’s bodies.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s wrong to hurt living things without a reason.”

“But I had a reason. I didn’t want it to run away.”

“That’s not a very good reason,” Lina cautioned. “Promise me you’ll never do something like that again. If you want to see the bunnies, you’ll have to bribe them to come near. Then when they trust you you’ll be able to pet them all you want.”

Lecia looked dubious, but she nodded. “Okay, I promise.”

“Good,” Lina said, sitting down in one of the chairs on the terrace.

Lecia scrambled over and crawled into her lap. “Are you angry at me?” she asked, eyes wide.

“No, I’m not angry at you. I just want you to be a good person.”

“Are you a good person?”

“I try, but I’m not always successful.”

“Is Daddy a good person?” Lecia asked, snuggling into her mother’s chest.

Lina sighed and put her arms around the little girl, wondering how to answer that question, when Xellos appeared on the terrace bearing refreshments. Lina noticed that he had his bag with him and made no move to sit down with them after setting the tray on the table. “What’s going on?” she said, reaching for a glass.

“I have to run a few errands tonight, and I’m afraid I need to leave tomorrow.”

Lina felt Lecia’s grip on her tighten. “When will you be back?”

“It’s a very long assignment,” he said with a sigh. “It will take several months.”

“Several months? But you’ve never been gone that long!”

“I know,” he replied. “I don’t want to be gone for such an extended period of time, but I really don’t have a choice.”

Lina, despite her better judgment, believed him. “What will you be doing?”

“I really can’t tell you that. It’s best for everyone if you don’t know. After all, the Monsters already see you as a threat, and would probably only pursue you further if you knew their plans.”

Damn him, he also made sense. “Fine, fine,” she grumbled.

Lecia pushed out of Lina’s lap and rushed to her father, wrapping herself around his calf. “No, Daddy, I don’t want you to go!” she said, large eyes moist.

“I don’t have a choice, little one,” he replied softly, stroking her silky hair with his gloved fingers. “But you’ll get to stay with Grandma. Don’t you have fun with Grandma?”

“Yeah,” Lecia pouted.

Something in Lina’s chest quivered, but she refused to give into it. She felt bad that Lecia would have to spend months with Xellas, but if Xellos was gone for so long, and Xellas was taking care of the kid, then Lina would finally have enough time to go on a journey she’d been dying to do. It’d be nice to have Lecia along, but the route was long and dangerous, not to mention the fact that she didn’t feel like babysitting. “See you later,” she said flatly, then watched as Xellos nodded once and disappeared.

She was already in bed by the time he returned. He didn’t enter through the door, simply materialized in a corner. Cracking open an eye, she gazed at him, then felt electric fear race through her system and she sat upright, a scream lodged in her throat. It didn’t look like Xellos for a moment, for his eyes were glowing dully in the darkness of the room, and cold evil pervaded the air around her. He stepped into a shaft of moonlight, however, and she wondered if it had all been an illusion, for there he was, smiling mildly as always, eyes shut. “I didn’t mean to wake you,” he murmured.

“It’s okay,” she grumbled, pulling the sheet up over her breasts.

He dismissed his clothes with a gesture and crawled into bed next to her. She sighed and sank down next to him, knowing that both his disrobing and his charade of sleeping were for her benefit. Suddenly he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and burying his nose in her hair.

“Xellos?” she asked softly, strangely worried.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured into her silken tresses.

“For what?”

“For leaving you again.”

“It’s okay.”

He was silent for a moment. “If I don’t return, please fetch Lecia from Wolfpack Island. I know you’re more than capable of providing for both of you, but just in case I’ve been putting a little something away in the local bank. Just go there and give them your name and they’ll provide you with enough money to last you and Lecia until she reaches adulthood.”

His words instilled the deepest kind of fear in her. She found that, even if she wasn’t in love with him, she really didn’t want to lose him. Besides, how was she supposed to raise Lecia alone? “But why wouldn’t you come back? You’re damn near indestructible, and I should know.”

“I’m aware of that, but even I can be defeated.”

“Nonsense,” she growled, using anger to hide her fear.

“Well, I wanted to warn you. If I’m not back in half a year and you can’t feel me through the ring you’ll know that I’m gone for good.”

“Then don’t leave!” she said. “Don’t go on this stupid mission!”

He released her and looked into her face, running his fingers along the curve of her jaw. “I don’t have a choice. I’m built to serve, and I cannot disobey my mistress.”

“It’s not fair,” she whispered. “It’s just not fair.”

“I know, I know,” he murmured, and they lay there in silence, limbs entwined, until she dropped off into an uneasy sleep.

Xellos waited until an hour before dawn, then slipped from the bed and summoned his clothes to him. Lina was still tangled in the sheets, eyes shut tight with a slight scowl on her face. She showed no signs of stirring, and so he quietly went over to her. It had been a long, long night for him, since he did not need to sleep, and he had turned over many things in his mind as he held her. “I’m sorry,” he whispered to her again, picking up one of her fiery tresses and lifting it to his nostrils, and teleported to Lecia’s room.

He walked over to his daughter’s bed and put a gloved hand on her shoulder, shaking her slightly. The child was sprawled out on the mattress, the covers only actually touching a small portion of her body. “Lecia, it’s time to go,” he said softly.

“Uhhh?” Lecia groaned, rolling over and wiping at her face.

“It’s time to go see Grandma,” he repeated, brushing the child’s heavy bangs out of her face.

“No, Mama,” Lecia muttered, burying her face in her pillow.

Xellos sighed and picked up the child’s slight body, keeping her wrapped in her blankets. He gathered her favorite stuffed toy, a wolf, and set it atop his bundle.

“We’re going now,” he murmured, and she clutched at his cloak in her drowsiness.

“Gotta say bye,” she grumbled.

“Oh?”

“Bye to Mama.”

“There’s no time, little one. We’ll see her again,” Xellos said, and cast one last look around the room. He wasn’t planning on being defeated, nor did he think it was possible that he would die on his mission, but there was always a chance. Being around Lina and his daughter had taught him the fragility of life, even when one was immortal. “Goodbye,” he said to his little life, just in case, and teleported.

“I was worried you were going to be late,” Xellas purred as he materialized in front of her.

“I may have been many things, but I haven’t been that foolish,” he replied, tone deferential.

“Nonsense. You’ve been the ultimate fool where that mortal woman is concerned,” Xellas snorted, sliding off of her throne and over to where he stood. “Although, I can definitely see the appeal of the child. It’s so very much fun to have a mortal mind to mold.”

Xellos felt cold threads of anxiety weave through his insides, careful not to let his expression change. “I’ve come as you ordered, Mistress,” he said softly. “Thank you for caring for my young one.”

“She’s become so big,” Xellas commented. “It’s strange, they way the humans grow and change. But enough of that. You’ve come to hear what tasks I have for you.”

“Yes, Mistress,” Xellos said with a bow. “May I request we see to Lecia first, however?”

Xellas, who had been walking away from him, stopped and turned. “Of course,” she said, opening up a dimensional portal with a wave of her hand. The two of them stepped through it, Xellos still carrying Lecia, and found themselves in Xellos’ old quarters. His room had been transformed over the years into a sort of nursery, full of toys and things interesting to children. A small, cozy bed was nestled in the corner, and it was here that Xellos situated his daughter. As he put her down she stirred, her amethyst eyes fluttering open and focusing on him.

“Daddy?” she murmured, rubbing her eyes.

“I’m leaving now, little one,” he whispered. “Behave for Grandma.”

“Okay,” she sighed, and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him on the cheek. He smiled and gently pressed her back against her pillow, handing her the wolf toy, tucking her in, and kissing her on the forehead. “Bye, Daddy.”

“Goodbye, Lecia. I’ll see you soon,” he replied, stroking her hair one last time.

“She’ll be fine,” Xellas said, tone bored. “Let’s move on.”

Xellos followed her, but couldn’t resist casting one last glance at the tiny form in the bed as he walked away. Before he knew it they were back in Xellas’ throne room, the edges teeming with underlings just like always. “What is my task, Mistress?” he asked, placing a hand over where his heart should have been and kneeling.

Xellas settled into her throne and yawned, stretching her long, tanned limbs. “Your antagonism of the dragon race these past few years has not been enough to draw them out,” Xellas explained. “If we are ever going to rob them of their numbers we need to take a new plan of action.”

“But I have destroyed all the dragons I have been able to search out in the limited time you have given me,” Xellos protested politely.

“I’m aware of that, but your actions have not changed our situation for the better. We need to kill more of them than just a few here and there. Unfortunately, the dragons are onto us now and it is becoming more and more difficult to locate them.”

“What is the plan of action?”

“We have been doing some reconnaissance,” Xellas explained. “In the upper part of the continent there lies a city that is located near the temple of the Air Dragon King. Judging by our observations, this city is exceptional in that the dragons interact from time to time with the humans, who also appear to worship our enemy, the Air Dragon King. Apparently that particular tribe of dragons is devoted to protecting the city and the humans within it, since they have a common goal.”

“If the plan is to destroy the city, draw out the dragons, and slaughter them, it will take far less time than several months,” Xellos observed.

Xellas shook her head. “Has your wit deserted you, pup?” she asked dryly, drumming her fingers on the armrest of her seat. “There are other dragon tribes between here and there. You are to exterminate all of them on your way north.”

“All of them?”

“Yes. Every single last one.”

“That is very time consuming, especially considering they have gone into hiding.”

“It is unfortunate that, despite their greater numbers, they are still so cowardly. If they had any sort of spines or pride they’d make their own moves, but as it is we must ferret them out.”

“I will leave at once,” Xellos replied, executing a deep bow and turning away.

“Not so fast, pup,” the Greater Beast growled. “Do you remember the letter I had you deliver to Dolphin all those years ago?”

“Yes, I do,” he answered, slowly turning back toward his mistress with misgiving.

“Well, that letter contained many subjects, but one of them was about this very mission. It has taken us this long to finalize our plans, but at last they are finished. However, due to the magnitude of this task, you will have companions.”

Xellos raised an eyebrow. “Oh? I did not require help when I was slaughtering the followers of the Water Dragon King.”

“That is so, but they also weren’t expecting the attack.”

“So I am to have chaperones, then,” he said sharply. “I am not trusted enough to carry a mission of this importance out on my own.”

“I deny that is so, but you must admit that your behavior has been the cause of much worry to our race,” Xellas replied with a wave of her hand.

“And, in the event that I am unsuccessful and am destroyed, then you have also conveniently removed the ‘traitor’ from your midst,” he continued, the tone of his voice growing sharp.

“You know very well that I do not want to lose you. If I was willing to sacrifice you so easily, why would I have fought so hard to keep you living? You, Xellos, are the most powerful minion on this planet and have served me very well. With our numbers being as small as they are, I would have to be mad to let you be destroyed. You are our best asset, despite your troubling meddling with the Inverse woman,” Xellas intoned, beginning to sound displeased.

Xellos seriously doubted her sincerity, but, as always, he was in no position to argue. It never did him any good, and an angry Xellas was exceedingly dangerous. Perhaps if he only thought of himself, like he had in days gone by, it wouldn’t have been an issue, but he didn’t want to miss seeing Lecia grow up. He also didn’t want to see her grow old and die, but he supposed that was the price of witnessing the beautiful, talented, and vibrant young woman he knew she would become. Monsters weren’t capable of many emotions, but pride was among what they could experience, and he already felt that deeply about his daughter. “Understood,” Xellos answered. “Who are my companions?”

“Naiyad and Ority,” she replied, clapping twice.

They waited a moment, and then the air began to shift. Naiyad, Dolphin’s general, appeared before them and knelt deeply. A few seconds later Ority, who was an underling of Dynast, also materialized. Ority, Xellos remembered, was on the same level of the demonic hierarchy as Kanzel and Mazenda had been, although he looked far more human. His unremarkable brown hair and green eyes made him indistinguishable from mortals, if one didn’t discover his slitted pupils.

“Greetings,” Xellos said flatly, not wanting to welcome them nor shun them.

“Greetings, Greater Beast, Beast Priest,” Naiyad said, throwing Xellos a dirty look.

“Likewise,” Ority said, standing.

Xellos turned to Xellas and stared at her long and hard, searching her face for treachery. Oddly enough he had trusted his mistress to to betray him before she turned him human, but now he reevaluated everything she said or did. He was no longer her willing servant, that was for certain. “We will complete this task as quickly as possible,” he said sharply. “Please take the greatest of care with my daughter.”

He noticed the other two Monsters stiffen at the mention of the child, but Xellas, who always enjoyed being amused, simply smiled. “Of course, pup. She’s a darling little thing, and I wouldn’t dream of seeing anything untoward happen to her. You may journey on free of worries.”

“I thank you,” he replied, bowing again and trying to keep his own smile at bay. Naiyad and Ority looked as if they would fall over, faces pale and drawn. “Shall we?” he said to them, smiling benignly with a wave of his staff.

They nodded simultaneously and bunched close together, following behind him as he left Xellas’ presence. “Don’t trust him, he’s crafty,” he heard Naiyad whisper, the sound so faint he could barely pick it up.

“Master doesn’t trust the Greater Beast, either,” Ority replied.

Now that was interesting information, Xellos thought to himself. Something greater was afoot among the Lords, and he wondered how much of it Xellas was aware of. Most likely she knew a great deal, and he was curious to know if her fondness for Lecia lay in the fact that the child kept the others off-balance. “Let’s begin,” Xellos said loudly, and they took off.

It had been several months and their mission had been greatly successful. Xellos had sustained little damage, and was feeling rather satisfied with the way things had proceeded. He had never gotten along well with Naiyad, but she was surprisingly docile on the trip, and he had to admit that it felt nice to be with reasonable Monsters after Lina’s emotional and volatile nature. It also was pleasurable to be destroying again, something he had always enjoyed. Manipulation and games had their place, but sometimes there was nothing as refreshing as blowing the holy living shit out of something, especially when that something happened to be an annoying dragon. Ority was just as passionless and boring as his master, and the three had traveled at a good pace even when they posed as humans. Once Xellos had nearly had his head taken off by a dragon’s Laser Breath when he felt Lina searching for him through the ring, and when he realized it was just her routine check it was almost too late for him to move out of the way. He had managed somehow, but the other Monsters had given him a look and increased their attention of his every move a hundredfold. Xellos was becoming exceedingly tired of being constantly monitored.

Their final destination loomed in front of them, and Xellos was actually excited to get the whole business over with. He was sick of the other two Monsters and their spying, and he was concerned about being away from Lecia for so long. Lina’s searches for him had also come to a stop several weeks before, and he knew she would have a fit if she found him checking up on her. Still, he was concerned for her safety as well. He wouldn’t put it past the Lords to attack her while he was away, and although she was capable of defeating most anyone, he was still worried.

Hanging in the sky far above the human city, Xellos calmly studied his target. The place was quite breathtaking, actually. The Air Dragon King’s influence was obvious in the tall towers and sweeping banners of the city, and the entire layout was that of a hexagram, much like Seyruun. The spirals and height of the towers were amazing, and every single building seemed to be made of the same white stone. The roofs were a rainbow of tile, and many parts of the city were covered with lush vegetation. In the distance the dragons’ temple could be seen, dwarfing the mountains it nestled against, and was copied in miniature in the human’s city. Xellos turned and grinned at his companions. “Let us begin,” he said brightly, and opened fire.

His first few blasts of power hit the outskirts of the town, sending the inhabitants running and screaming toward the center. “They think the temple can protect them,” Ority muttered. “Pathetic.”

“Well, they won’t worry for much longer,” Naiyad commented as Xellos let loose another round. Smoke and dust began to billow up from between the buildings and Xellos could not help feeling exhilarated at the sight.

“You always had a tendency to rush things,” Xellos murmured with a smile, opening his eyes so he could better witness the destruction. He pointed a finger and traced the city wall, his smile widening as a ring of fire leapt up around the perimeter. With a gesture of his hand the ring began to slowly tighten, and he could see people running and screaming in the streets, trying to escape the flames. “After all, we shouldn’t kill them until the dragons arrive and are defeated. It’s so much better to watch hope die than mortals.”

The other two Monsters began to chortle, and then Xellos happened to look down at the city. The tightening ring of fire had gone out in one spot, and suddenly he felt very, very cold. Icy sweat beaded along his hairline as he squinted at the spot, thinking that there were very few magicians on the planet that could accomplish such a feat, and only one that he knew of in the hemisphere. Leaving the other two behind in stunned silence, he dropped down closer to the level of the rooftops, eyes scanning the fleeing masses of people. “The dragons are coming!” he heard Ority shout, and a glance at the horizon confirmed it.

“What’s the matter?” Naiyad said, materializing over his shoulder, and then he heard a familiar chant. It was her, it was Lina. For whatever reason, his Lina was in the city, and she was about to open fire.

“If you want to stay whole you will move,” Xellos said tersely, teleporting out of the way, and watched as Naiyad did the same. They reappeared next to Ority, who was shading his eyes and watching the hordes of golden dragons swarm from the Air Dragon King’s temple.

The beam of red energy shot past them and into the sky, taking their breath away with its power. “What was that?” Naiyad exclaimed, peering at the ground. “No one in this hemisphere is such an accomplished magician!”

Xellos felt panic rise within him. If they found out Lina was in the city there would be worse trouble for him than golden dragons. “I’m sure it was just one of the dragons in human form. I’ve heard that they sometimes travel amongst the mortals to ensure peace.”

Ority scowled, dark eyebrows coming together sharply. “But that felt like Lord Ruby-Eye’s power,” he protested.

“Nonsense,” Xellos replied, forcing a laugh. “My dear boy, have you really been out of battle so long?”

“Cut it out, Xellos,” Naiyad hissed. “I felt it, too.”

“We have larger problems to deal with,” he said sharply, pointing at the oncoming mass of dragons. He couldn’t let them find out about Lina, and he didn’t want her hurt. If he could distract the others perhaps she would have enough time to escape, or maybe he could cause one of the dragons to wound his companions, forcing them to escape and leave the city intact. He could always come back and destroy it himself after he was sure Lina was safe. “Don’t you think exterminating the dragons takes the highest priority.”

“No,” Naiyad responded, narrowing her eyes. “Ority, go down there.”

Ority nodded and teleported, then was back an instant later, face pale, along with another red beam of energy. “It’s that woman,” he panted, drifting closer to Naiyad. “What should we do?”

“Destroy the golden dragons,” Xellos said firmly, voice lowering to dangerous levels. “I’m pulling rank, and our first priority is to defeat the followers of the Air Dragon King.”

“Report to Lord Dynast,” Naiyad snapped at Ority. “Tell him that the Inverse woman is here and request further instructions.”

“That isn’t necessary,” Xellos said quietly, eyes glistening.

“Shut up, you tainted piece of garbage!” Naiyad hissed as Ority disappeared. “Your soul is defiled by humanity. You’re no longer one of us and as such have no rank.”

“Power is rank,” he answered calmly, eyes cold. He couldn’t believe this was happening to him.

“Not this time,” she spat, and Ority appeared again.

“I have orders,” he panted, eying Xellos. “She’s to be killed.”

Xellos shrugged. “Then by all means, have a go at it,” he said with a wave of his hand. “I really think she’ll stomp you flat.”

“No,” Ority said, an odd gleam in his eye. “You’re the one that’s supposed to kill her.”

Naiyad broke out laughing. “Excellent! Leave it to Lord Dynast to be so clever!”

“We’ll see,” Xellos mumbled, feeling even more numb and cold than before. The ring on his chest burned into his physical body, and he knew that Lina had searched him out. She knew it was him.

“So, Xellos, what will it be? Will you forfeit your own life to keep your human pet alive, or will you destroy her and once again be one of us?”

“Hush, Ority,” Naiyad chortled. “Even if he lets her kill him, we’ll just kill her after he’s gone.”

“Two birds with one stone,” Ority added, and they continued to laugh.

Xellos quickly turned over his options in his mind only to find that there were none. The dragons began to bear down on them at that moment, and Xellos, for the first time in a thousand years, lost patience. “You’ll wait until I’m finished,” he shouted at the dragons, throwing his strongest barrier up with a sweep of his arm. It took a great deal of his power, but it kept both the dragons and their attacks at bay. Satisfied that he would not be bothered, he cast a glance at the other Monsters, hating them, and began to lower himself to the ground, prepared to give Lina her death.

As Lina neared the city she felt an odd anticipation overtake her. She supposed it wasn’t surprising, though, considering how long she’d wanted to visit this particular city. Over the past several years she would wander to this place or that, and along the way she kept hearing rumors of the archives in the city of the Air Dragon King. It was supposed to be a famous center of learning, especially since the golden dragons lived so close. At any rate, she had been hungering for quite some time to rummage through the libraries and archives in the city, but the distance had made a visit impossible. She would have needed months for the journey, and yet she hadn’t wanted to abandon her family for so long. However, with Xellos’ latest assignment taking him out of town for so long and with Lecia out of her hair, she didn’t feel the least bit guilty finally taking her extended journey. It thrilled her that she finally had the time to make the trip, and she was incredibly excited that so much information stood just before her.

She had only been in the city for a few hours, having immediately sampled some of the local cuisine, and was walking down one of the avenues near the outskirts of town. As she was heading toward the center she was musing on the hexagram-like layout of the city when a loud sound interrupted her thoughts. It sounded for all the world like an explosion, and as her head whipped around to find the source the ground shook beneath her feet. Smoke and dust billowed above the buildings quite some distance from her, but within the city nonetheless. People began to scream and run by her as more explosions rocked the city, and Lina looked frantically around for an answer. “What’s going on?” she shouted into the crowd, but no one would respond as they shoved past. They all appeared to be heading for the temple, and she remembered reading that the dragons were oathbound to defend the humans and their city. Wondering if the information was true, she shaded her eyes with her hand and looked up into the sky, searching for the shapes of dragons. What she found instead troubled her deeply.

In the sky hovered three figures, one of whom was dressed all in black. They were too far away for her to make out, but she suddenly had an awful feeling that she knew who was up there. Her heart sank into her chest and she saw the tall, dark figure move slightly. All around her a wall of flame appeared, and she felt sick as she smelled homes burning and realized what was going on. It had to be Xellos, no one else had the sort of power it took to set the entire perimeter of the city on fire.

As she watched the wall of flame approach her she felt nauseated and cold. How dare he kill her race? How dare he murder his daughter’s race? Anger at him and at herself filled her slight body so violently that she began to tremble. She was stupid, stupid to think that just because he had spent years living with her and their child that he would change. It was nothing but folly to hope that he would be able to abandon some of his Monster ways for them. He was a Monster through and through, and it was asinine to believe otherwise. Damn her! How could she have been so stupid? How could she have trusted him? “Damn you, you Monster liar!” she screamed into the flame-driven wind, and let loose a powerful spell, extinguishing the flames in front of her. He was killing people, the man she lived with was out killing people. On some deep level it didn’t surprise her, but every bone in her body ached with anger nonetheless. She should have never forgotten what he was. If she had had any sense she would have taken Lecia and left years ago, but now it was too late.

She looked up and realized that the dark figure had floated closer and was peering down at her. It was unmistakably him; he was close enough that she could see his staff. Mindless rage filled her, and her only thought was to destroy the bastard that was killing the humans and had hurt her feelings. Before she knew what she was doing she began to chant, and as her spell drew to a close she saw Xellos joined by a female Monster. She looked straight into the new Monster’s face and knew she had been seen and recognized. Glancing over at Xellos, she was surprised to see him pale. Well, too bad, it was his own fault. “Dragon Slave!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, loosing her spell right at him. A growl escaped her as the Monsters got away, but she swore they wouldn’t do so again. She readied another spell and then decided it wouldn’t hurt to make sure it really was him. Besides, whatever she threw at him wouldn’t kill him, unless it was the Ragna Blade or the Giga Slave. As she looked up she saw that the dragons were coming, and then something awful occurred to her. This was the precise moment he had spoken about during their last night together. This was the moment he wasn’t sure he would live through. Quickly she reached toward him through the ring, immediately confirming his identity as the figure in the sky and pushing all her most wrenching feelings straight at him. The three Monsters appeared to be talking, Xellos’ body posture stiff, and then the dragons descended. Lina let out a gasp as the sky darkened with beating wings, and she felt several different brands of fear. She didn’t want the dragons to die, nor did she want Xellos to die. Most of all, she didn’t want to die. Almost cringing, she looked up through a squinting eye and saw Xellos throw a hand to the side. The air shimmered for a moment, then the dragons began bouncing off the barriers like they were motes of dust. Their attacks were repelled as well, and it was then she realized just how powerful Xellos was. He could have smashed her to dust at any time during their acquaintance and there would have been precious little she could have done about it, she thought with shock. She had known he was strong, but not that he was that strong. The idea of his strength combined with his evil made her shudder, and then she realized he was coming down to her.

“I wish you had not come here, Miss Lina,” he said coldly as his boots made contact with the cobblestones.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she snapped. “Is this your mission?”

Xellos looked around at the ruined houses and flames. “Sort of. The assignment is to kill all the dragons. If we can destroy the city and the humans in it we’ve done some extra work.”

Lina felt her jaw quiver and she swallowed her rage. “How could you do this? How could you kill these people?”

“You know the answer to that question. It’s not like you to ask silly questions.”

His chilly response surprised her. Xellos was usually fairly ingratiating, and it was very, very strange to see him acting so formal and unfriendly. What was wrong? Why was he being so odd? “You know I can’t stand by and let you do this,” she warned, trying to breathe around the lump in her throat.

He look a step closer, his eyes fully open, and she shivered at the heartless look in his slitted eyes. “And you know that I can’t let you stop me,” he replied softly, moving forward again. He was so close that they were within a couple of feet of one another.

“What do you mean?”

“I have my orders, and I cannot disobey,” he said. “I must kill you, Lina Inverse.”

Her heart stopped beating in her chest and she thought for a moment that she was going to black out. Had she truly heard those words? “What?” she murmured, shocked to her very core.

“You heard me. I mean to take your life from you.”

A million emotions raced through her body. She was angry at him for betraying her, yes she was. Nothing would have been more satisfying than wrapping her fist in his hair and smashing his head against something spiky. Hurt was there as well, however, and it pained her to her soul that he would really harm her. They had been through so much together over the years, and even though he could have, and probably should have, killed her many times, he never had. Despite her best judgment, she had eventually come to trust him and even care for him, and now he was throwing it all away like she was so much garbage. “How could you?” she whispered, choking back tears of rage and pain. “I thought we were friends.”

“Preposterous,” he said with a cold smile, wagging his finger at her slowly. “I’m a Monster, remember?”

“Xellos,” she croaked, feeling rooted to the cobblestones.

He shrugged. “Oh well. It could be worse.”

Lina saw the other two Monsters engage the dragons over Xellos’ shoulder. Fire and pieces of burning flesh began to rain down upon them and she gagged on the smell and her unshed tears. Her whole body ached with pain, and it was if she had been whipped a million times and bathed in saltwater. “How?”

“I never loved you, for one,” he said nonchalantly. “And you never loved me either. That makes it a bit easier, doesn’t it?”

“I can’t believe this,” she stammered, the blood pounding in her skull.

“Think of it this way,” he answered softly, stepping very close to her. “How much worse would this be if I was the man you loved? How awful would this be if it were Gourry standing here, about to take your life?”

Lina almost lost it right then and there. She wanted to tell him that she wasn’t with Gourry, she was with him, and she had trusted him, but she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. “You,” was the only word she could manage to croak out.

“Still, you have served me well. I will make this a painless experience,” he said gently, putting a hand on her shoulder and another on her chest, his palm flat between her breasts.

“I trusted you,” she said, voice cracking, and a few tears rolled out of the corner of her eyes.

He looked at her for a moment, his eyes cold and hard as they locked with hers. “Do not move a muscle,” he murmured. “If you even do so much as flinch you will experience the worst agony of your entire life.”

“All my pain has been because of you,” she spat, tears flowing freely down her face. She had cared about him, she really had. She had never thought his betrayal would have hurt so much.

“Don’t you dare move,” he hissed narrowing his eyes. “It ends here.”

Lina took a deep breath and shut her eyes, determined to go to her death bravely, when suddenly she was crushed against his body and covered by his cloak. He shouted a few words and she yelled, deafened by the ensuing noise. The earth shook beneath her and heat erupted all around them. It was as if the world itself was coming to an end, and suddenly the only real thing in her life was the feeling of his arms wrapped around her like steel bands. She was pressed so tightly against him that she couldn’t see what was going on, and so she simply squeezed her eyes shut and let her tears soak his shirt. The world broke apart around them and she screamed as they were hurled through the air, hearing a soft thud as Xellos’ body shielded her from falling rocks. There were more noises and the smell of burning flesh, and then she was released into the light and cool air, gasping. Xellos unfolded his cloak onto the ground and laid her upon it, gently clearing strands of hair from her face. “Xellos,” she gurgled, groping for his shirt front. She had no idea what had just happened.

“Are you all right?” he whispered urgently, running his hands over her face and limbs. “Are you hurt at all?”

“What? No, I’m fine,” she mumbled, batting at his touch.

“Are you certain?” he asked, tracing her jaw and cheeks with his long fingers.

“I’m fine,” she snapped, slapping him away. “What the hell was that? You scared me half to death!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he murmured, reaching out and crushing her to him once again. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

Lina shoved him away with all her might. “Explain to me right now what just happened. One minute you’re threatening to kill me, and the next thing I know the world is exploding.”

His face softened and he smiled, the expression almost human. “Miss Lina, do you really think I’d kill you? Especially after all the trouble I went through to stay with you?”

“You are a Monster,” she replied coldly.

His smile fell. “I know,” he said, standing. “And I am in oodles of trouble.”

Lina followed his gaze and saw that there was nothing but a water-filled crater where the city had been. Several miles of land had been leveled entirely, and a piece of the mountain range was missing as well. “Nothing could have survived that,” she gasped, suddenly afraid of him once again. Whatever he had just done, it had the power of about ten of her Dragon Slaves.

“Nothing did survive it, including my companions.”

“The other Monsters?”

Xellos turned to her, expression weary. “Precisely. I hope you realize how much trouble I’m in now.”

“You killed your own people? On purpose?”

“It was that or kill you instead. I hope you're not arguing with my choice, because I’m afraid it’s a bit late now.”

“No, no,” she said, shocked. Her body was beginning to shut down because of all the conflicting input. The whole thing had just been an act of his, then. He had never intended to hurt her at all.

“We have to leave immediately. I’d like to get you and Lecia to safety before they hunt me down,” Xellos said, helping her stand.

“What’s going to happen?” she asked, all her fear, anger, and confusion replaced instantly by worry.

Xellos shook his cloak out and refastened around his shoulders, then gently took her hand and drew her close. “Miss Lina, I apologize for frightening you,” he murmured, reaching up and wiping away her drying tears with his fingers.

“Good,” she grumbled, looking into his face and feeling oddly vulnerable. “I should pound your head in with a rock for the scare you gave me.”

“I know.” He sighed and looked towards the wreckage he had caused. Nothing moved or lived in the newly-created crater.

“So what happens now?” she said, repeating her earlier question. “What are our options?”

“You must take Lecia and get as far away as you can. Go back to Filia, since she and Val might be strong enough to help you protect yourself. I know you’re more than strong enough to defend yourself, and they’ll be after me anyway, but it would be nice for you to have help with Lecia. If that fails, go back to Seyruun to your friends, or back to Gourry. He carries Scundabran, and he will finally be able to protect you.”

Her heart twisted at the mention of Gourry, but suddenly she realized that she wanted her strange little family to stay together. Xellos had been a part of her life for so long that it seemed odd to think of being without him, Monster or no. Besides, Lecia worshipped her father, and she would hate to think of the trauma it would cause her if something happened to Xellos. “But what happens to you?”

“Dynast and Dolphin will hunt me down and kill me. My life is forfeit, I’m afraid.”

“No!” Lina cried, wrapping her fists in his cloak and shaking him. “You have to fight!”

“They’re my superiors,” Xellos murmured. “If my mistress says ‘die’, then I must.”

“No,” she repeated.

“I have no choice, and we should hurry. Time is of the essence,” Xellos said softly, and took them home.

They rematerialized in the middle of their parlor, the servants staring at them. “Uh, you’re all free to go,” Xellos said cheerfully. “Miss Lina here will make sure your wages are paid next week. I’m sorry to give you such short notice, but I’m afraid your services will no longer be needed.”

The servants didn’t need any prompting. A few of them ran screaming, apparently frightened by their sudden appearance, and the rest backed out of the room quickly. “Great,” Lina grunted, scowling at the empty room.

“Oh well,” Xellos sighed, looking down at her. He regretted it, just a little. It was a shame that he would be hunted down, tortured, and killed. His eyes roved over her face, memorizing every detail. She was aging well, an air of passion and learning about her, and wisdom was already beginning to show in her eyes, even though she was only in her mid-twenties. Lina’s trim figure and petite build would help her become a striking old woman, and he wished he would be around to see her. After all, he had always been curious, and Lina had never disappointed his curiosity. “I’m going to fetch Lecia now.”

“Don’t you think that’s dangerous? What if Xellas tries to stop you?”

Xellos considered it, weighing the risk. Xellas most likely wouldn’t stop Dynast and Dolphin from claiming him for his crimes, but there was also the chance she didn’t know yet. He would also prefer Lina to raise the child, knowing that only mortals could truly understand other mortals. “I don’t think she knows, not yet, and I don’t want her raising Lecia. The child needs her mother. I have to hurry.”

Lina looked at him long and hard, then nodded. “Be careful,” she said, taking a step back, and he made haste to Wolfpack Island.

Xellos didn’t even bother announcing himself to Xellas, instead teleporting directly into her throne room. He spotted Lecia immediately, playing on the floor with some patterned tiles in front of the throne where Xellas lounged. “Daddy!” Lecia cried, abandoning her toys and running to him.

“Hello, little one,” he replied, scooping her up into his arms with one fluid motion.

“Xellos,” the Greater Beast said, raising an eyebrow. “You’re here early.”

“The mission is completed, Mistress,” he said calmly, bowing as well as he could with his child in his arms. “The temple of the Air Dragon King is no more.”

“Where are Naiyad and Ority?” she asked, but he was already in motion.

“Don’t forget my wolf,” Lecia said, and Xellos clenched his teeth as he teleported, annoyed at having to waste the time to collect his daughter’s things but not wanting to alert Lecia to the fact that something was terribly, terribly wrong. He reappeared in her room and quickly shoved her toys and clothes into a bag. Lecia bounded into his arms again and he had just started to phase out of the physical plane when Xellas appeared.

“Stop!” she demanded, golden eyes flashing, but it was too late. He was already on his way.

As he appeared once again in his home panic had set in full-force. Xellas was angry at him, he knew it, and would only become angrier when she found out what he had done. Time was of the essence, and he didn’t know how much of it he had left. “Xellos!” he heard Lina cry, and he immediately set Lecia down. The child looked up into his eyes, and suddenly his senses went haywire. Something was very, very wrong with his daughter. Quickly examining her, he couldn’t find a single scrape or bruise, but something was wrong.

“Hush,” he said gently, not wanting to alarm Lina or anger her but needing her to remain quiet so he could concentrate.

“Daddy?” Lecia asked, eyes wide with anxiety.

“Just a minute,” he murmured, and then it struck him. The teleporting had been much easier than usual. It normally took quite a bit of his energy to teleport a mortal, since their astral forms were so much weaker. He not only had to pull their physical body onto the astral plane, but also protect it and their astral body as he traveled. This time, however, it had been nearly as easy as teleporting by himself. Frightened, he pulled himself off of the physical plane and onto his native one, reeling with the influx of power as he always did. The astral plane was so much more comfortable, and for a moment he relaxed. There was Lina, burning brightly as always, and then he felt pure horror overtake him. He suddenly knew why Xellas was so interested in his little girl. Lecia’s astral form was four times the size of her mother’s. It still wasn’t nearly as large as his, but it was more than enough for her to be well on her way to being a Monster. Xellas had slowly been adding astral energy to his daughter, obviously hoping to someday pledge her and make her a minion. He must not have noticed before because his mistress had been doing it little by little, and it had taken several months of absence for there to be a big enough change for him to perceive it. With a hiss he appeared again on the physical plane, Lecia pressed against her mother.

“What?” Lina demanded, her eyes flickering with fear.

Anger filled Xellos, rage whose equal he had never experienced in all his long existence. How dare his mistress meddle with his child? He knew that he was Xellas’ possession, but just because he was hers didn’t mean Lecia was as well. “I’m going,” he announced coldly, gripping his staff so tightly it would have broken, had it been made of wood and not astral energy given physical form.

“Where?” Lina asked, her voice hard and desperate-sounding.

“Wolfpack Island,” he growled in reply, and left.

“Xellas!” he bellowed, striding into the hall.

“What is going on here?” Xellas snapped, appearing in front of him, her golden eyebrows plunging in a scowl.

“How dare you?” he demanded. “She’s not yours!”

Xellas relaxed a little, looking at him levelly. “So you noticed, did you?”

“How long did you think you could add to her before I found out?”

“Hopefully for years, but I see I got greedy.”

“You had no right to do such a thing,” he proclaimed. Wrath, it turned out, was something Monsters could feel very well.

“And who are you to tell me what I do and do not have a right to do?” she asked coldly, crossing her arms over her chest, her bangles jangling in the silence of the shadowy room. Even the rustling of underlings had ceased, and tension hung thick in the air.

Xellos could barely see, he was so infuriated. He had almost never lost control, and yet he felt events spiraling away from him at that very moment. His life was forfeit anyway, however, so he might as well try and protect what was his. “I am that child’s father,” he growled, “And as such I have every right to tell you.”

Xellas curled her lip and flared her nostrils. “Ah, there’s that insufferable human taint again. It has given you the bizarre notion that you have some sort of free will and control over your life.”

“It was you who made me mortal, and you who contaminated me,” he replied, finally able to master his tone of voice. “You are at fault for my impurity.”

“You have no free will, Xellos,” she spat. “I have granted you a certain amount of autonomy because it served my purposes, but you are, and always will be, nothing but my servant, my creation, my possession. As such, what is yours is also mine. I own you.”

“That might be so, but you do not own Lecia. She is mortal, and she will stay that way.”

The Greater Beast’s eyes narrowed dangerously and she took a step forward. “I gave you life and I can take it away,” she snarled. “You were the best minion ever, and yet you choose to throw it all away. You are far too valuable to destroy, but I will see you punished.”

“Do your worst,” Xellos countered, and began to summon energy. He never wanted his mistress near his family again, and he knew that if he let her live Lecia would always be in danger of becoming a Monster. It was doubtful that he even had a chance of defeating her, but he had to try. He might not love his family, but he respected them and understood his responsibility to protect him. Damn his tainted soul; it made him do things no self-respecting demon would ever consider. Calling all the power he could muster, he let loose a spell at Xellas. She flinched but batted it aside, not even singed.

“You might be able to call on Lord Ruby-Eye’s power, but I can call even more of it,” she said, voice low and dangerous, and released an awesome wave of power.

He dodged it, but just barely. She wasn’t using enough energy to kill him, so she had told him the truth about that. It was obvious that she intended to hurt him, though, and he decided that shamanist magic might help his cause. Releasing another spell, he moved to the side as he cast it, then let loose another attack from a new position. Xellas was caught in the second spell, having fallen into his trap, but it had no effect. He thought to run and try again from a new place, but suddenly she was in front of him, her long-fingered hand closing around his throat with frightening force. Although they were fighting mainly on the physical plane, he felt his astral body seized as well, groaning as she trapped his true form.

“No one defies Xellas Metallium,” she hissed between her teeth, giving him a shake.

He gurgled with the motion then began to scream. She was piercing his astral form in a thousand places, pinning every single particle of him down. He was immobile and there was nothing he could do about it. Xellas would pick him apart piece by tiny piece, and then put him back together again. The pain raced through every iota of energy that made up his being, and he cried out again in agony, the sound ripping out of his physical body with astounding force.

“Does that hurt?” Xellas said coldly, and through his haze of anguish he could see that she was not enjoying her task. “Are you ready to admit your mistake and surrender?”

Xellos cracked open an eye and panted, feeling her ease off just enough so that he could reply. “Li...na...” he croaked, and saw her face twist in frustration.

“Damn you!” she cried, lifting him off the ground and shaking him. Her long nails dug into the sides of his throat and her grip on his astral form tightened even further. She was strangling each of his bodies, and it wouldn’t be long before he would lose consciousness and his mistress could torture him in earnest until he relented and behaved himself.

Xellos screamed again, his being raw with the sounds, and kicked his legs as he tried to free his astral form. Struggle as he might, however, he could make no headway, and she had portioned off enough of his astral form with her own that he was losing energy rapidly. There wasn’t much hope that he could hold on much longer, and another screech of anguish ripped itself from his body. “Stop it!” he heard someone shout, and he felt Xellas’ surprise through the grip she had on his astral body. There was a brief struggle, some explosions, and suddenly there was a shining force on the astral plane. It was as if a hot blade sliced through his true body, severing not only Xellas’ hold on him but also part of himself. A final scream left him as he felt his astral energy began to leak away, and then everything went black as he lost consciousness.