Slayers - Ancient Grudges Unravelled 3
Title: Ancient Grudges Unravelled
Author: Shaded Mazoku.
Email: herukatto@hotmail.com.
Part: 3/?
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine at all. They belong to… …Someone else. I’m merely borrowing them for my own amusement.
Warnings: Violence, torture, sex, violent sex, bloodplay, yaoi.
Rating: PG-13 for this chapter, NC-17 for the entire fic.
Summary: Chasing an artefact lands Lina, Gourry, Zelgadis and Amelia in a town ruled by magic-hating priests. They decide to stop their reign. However, this might me harder than it seems. And a certain trickster priests seem to have an agenda of his own in the town.
Pairing(s): Xelloss x Zelgadis.
*Chapter One*Chapter Two*
To Zelgadis’ surprise, the temple itself seemed to be ancient, even if the cult was a fairly recent one. The building was solid stone, with the walls covered in carved symbols unlike any he’d seen before. The fanatics had added tons of drapery in their favoured dark colours, probably in an attempt to cover up the carvings, but they still peeked through.
Xelloss, who seemed to be testing Zelgadis’ limits by leaning heavily on him and pressing a good deal closer than what was necessary, seemed to have noticed his eyes flickering to the carvings. “Impressive, isn’t it?” He murmured quietly.
Zelgadis nodded and turned his attention back to the carvings, occasionally letting it drift to the other priests or the guards, and, when that got boring, to the floor or ceiling. The floor had a horribly garish carpet covering it, in shades in mauve and pink. Amelia would probably approve of the carpet, even if the owners were unjust villains.
Even garish carpets and the why and what of justice were better topics to focus on than the uncomfortably close presence of a mazoku. As a shamanistic magic user, he had a high astral awareness, and Xelloss felt “wrong” to his senses when he was this close.
And as if that wasn’t enough, there was also the fact that his body seemed inclined to enjoy Xelloss’ touch no matter what he felt about the matter. The only other person who ever touched him outside of battle and similar situations was Amelia, aside from Lina’s habit of hitting him and hurting her hand in the process, and she couldn’t really touch him hard enough for him to feel it much, not without worrying about hurting him. Just as well, really. The young princess wanted something from him that he couldn’t give her.
Xelloss, apparently, had no such problems, his grip on Zelgadis’ arm still strong enough to severely bruise human skin. Nor did the mazoku priest seem to have any concept of “personal space”. If he moved any closer now, he’d be walking on top of Zelgadis.
Resisting the urge to attempt pulling away, which would have drawn the guards attention, and would probably have been pointless as well, Zelgadis turned his attention to other things. His eyes fell on the robes of the priests walking in front of them. Interestingly enough, though the priests all wore the same sombre black robes, they seemed to be allowed to wear their own clothing underneath it, at least if he was to judge by the fact that the younger of the other two wore a dark brownish green shirt with a high collar, while the older, from what Zelgadis could see, wore a cinnamon tunic. Xelloss, too, wore a high-collared shirt, though his was a deep plum.
They also all wore jewelled pins to keep their robes together, though the pins were all different. The elderly priest wore a fairly simple brown stone in a brass setting, while the younger priest had a huge and tacky emerald and gold affair. Xelloss’ pin was set in polished wood, of all things, a deep red gem that seemed to pulse with its own energy. It seemed oddly familiar, yet Zelgadis was fairly certain that he’d never seen Xelloss wear it before.
After a while, they arrived at a huge chamber, filled with priests, guards and other people, far more people in one room than Zelgadis strictly speaking was comfortable with. He was actually quite relieved when Xelloss gave the other priests some generic excuse and led him off down an abandoned hallway.
This hallway was far narrower than the large and fancy main hallway, and it had no drapes, and barely any light. It was too dark to see the carvings for someone with human vision, but Zelgadis’ dark vision was a good deal better than most humans’, and he could make out the odd shapes even in the semi-dark.
“They try hiding all hints that they didn’t build this temple,” he said after a while, a statement rather than a question.
Xelloss nodded. “This hallway is forbidden to all but a few select priests and their confidants.” He smiled, loosing his grip on Zelgadis’ arm slightly. “I think they put me here because blind priests won’t notice such things.”
Zelgadis snorted. “That’s a flawed plan in several ways. For one thing, you’re not blind.”
Xelloss just kept smiling, of course, like he always did.
“And secondly, even a blind man could notice their little subterfuge. All it’d take would be a brush of fingers against the walls.” Or use of extra senses, like Rezo had used, but Zelgadis was not bringing that up around Xelloss. No need to give the mazoku any ammunition in any way.
Still smiling, Xelloss lightly ran his fingers along the wall briefly. “Of course. Deprivation of one sense makes the other senses stronger. Some people hone their senses to a point where just a light touch can tell them volumes about everything they touch, be it a living being or a stone.”
Zelgadis decided to ignore that. Xelloss probably hadn’t meant it like it sounded. Wouldn’t be the first time he took something to mean something it didn’t and reacted to it in the wrong way. Usually, he wouldn’t care if it was the wrong meaning, he’d just act on it. However, he’d have to make an effort to remain civil while in the temple.
“If they didn’t build the temple,” he said, pointedly steering his thoughts onto another track, and hopefully Xelloss’ thoughts as well, though he had no idea how a mazoku mind worked and didn’t particularly care to know. “Then who did build it?” He didn’t want to admit any curiosity.
Xelloss touched the wall again, letting his fingers glide along a particularly intricate carving. “Mazoku did,” he replied after a while. “A very long time ago.” He gave one of those smiles that said that it was the only thing he was willing to say about the subject at the moment.
Sighing, Zelgadis looked at the floor instead. It was probably easier to talk to than Xelloss, at any rate. He had a sudden feeling that this was going to be one long task.
The mazoku suddenly stopped walking and pushed open a door you could barely see, holding it open for Zelgadis. Zelgadis found himself wondering if the stone door was as heavy as it looked or if Xelloss was playing games again. He walked through the door and into the rooms beyond, giving Xelloss a warning look.
The chamber itself wasn't very unsettling. It was old, yes, like all of the building, with the walls, the fireplace and even the bed being carved from the same dark purplish-grey stone everything around seemed to consist of. A desk and a matching chair had been added to the room, as had more blankets and pillows than anyone sane would need.
However, the owner of the chamber wasn't even remotely sane, and with the guards patrolling the hallways, he was trapped in a stone room, without windows, with a mazoku who, no matter how much he claimed not to be able to use his power, could quite likely eradicate him and phase out of there before the detectors could even notice the magic. Not that Xelloss needed to use his powers to do damage.
Slowly, Zelgadis turned to face the ever-smiling demonic priest.
Author: Shaded Mazoku.
Email: herukatto@hotmail.com.
Part: 3/?
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine at all. They belong to… …Someone else. I’m merely borrowing them for my own amusement.
Warnings: Violence, torture, sex, violent sex, bloodplay, yaoi.
Rating: PG-13 for this chapter, NC-17 for the entire fic.
Summary: Chasing an artefact lands Lina, Gourry, Zelgadis and Amelia in a town ruled by magic-hating priests. They decide to stop their reign. However, this might me harder than it seems. And a certain trickster priests seem to have an agenda of his own in the town.
Pairing(s): Xelloss x Zelgadis.
*Chapter One*Chapter Two*
To Zelgadis’ surprise, the temple itself seemed to be ancient, even if the cult was a fairly recent one. The building was solid stone, with the walls covered in carved symbols unlike any he’d seen before. The fanatics had added tons of drapery in their favoured dark colours, probably in an attempt to cover up the carvings, but they still peeked through.
Xelloss, who seemed to be testing Zelgadis’ limits by leaning heavily on him and pressing a good deal closer than what was necessary, seemed to have noticed his eyes flickering to the carvings. “Impressive, isn’t it?” He murmured quietly.
Zelgadis nodded and turned his attention back to the carvings, occasionally letting it drift to the other priests or the guards, and, when that got boring, to the floor or ceiling. The floor had a horribly garish carpet covering it, in shades in mauve and pink. Amelia would probably approve of the carpet, even if the owners were unjust villains.
Even garish carpets and the why and what of justice were better topics to focus on than the uncomfortably close presence of a mazoku. As a shamanistic magic user, he had a high astral awareness, and Xelloss felt “wrong” to his senses when he was this close.
And as if that wasn’t enough, there was also the fact that his body seemed inclined to enjoy Xelloss’ touch no matter what he felt about the matter. The only other person who ever touched him outside of battle and similar situations was Amelia, aside from Lina’s habit of hitting him and hurting her hand in the process, and she couldn’t really touch him hard enough for him to feel it much, not without worrying about hurting him. Just as well, really. The young princess wanted something from him that he couldn’t give her.
Xelloss, apparently, had no such problems, his grip on Zelgadis’ arm still strong enough to severely bruise human skin. Nor did the mazoku priest seem to have any concept of “personal space”. If he moved any closer now, he’d be walking on top of Zelgadis.
Resisting the urge to attempt pulling away, which would have drawn the guards attention, and would probably have been pointless as well, Zelgadis turned his attention to other things. His eyes fell on the robes of the priests walking in front of them. Interestingly enough, though the priests all wore the same sombre black robes, they seemed to be allowed to wear their own clothing underneath it, at least if he was to judge by the fact that the younger of the other two wore a dark brownish green shirt with a high collar, while the older, from what Zelgadis could see, wore a cinnamon tunic. Xelloss, too, wore a high-collared shirt, though his was a deep plum.
They also all wore jewelled pins to keep their robes together, though the pins were all different. The elderly priest wore a fairly simple brown stone in a brass setting, while the younger priest had a huge and tacky emerald and gold affair. Xelloss’ pin was set in polished wood, of all things, a deep red gem that seemed to pulse with its own energy. It seemed oddly familiar, yet Zelgadis was fairly certain that he’d never seen Xelloss wear it before.
After a while, they arrived at a huge chamber, filled with priests, guards and other people, far more people in one room than Zelgadis strictly speaking was comfortable with. He was actually quite relieved when Xelloss gave the other priests some generic excuse and led him off down an abandoned hallway.
This hallway was far narrower than the large and fancy main hallway, and it had no drapes, and barely any light. It was too dark to see the carvings for someone with human vision, but Zelgadis’ dark vision was a good deal better than most humans’, and he could make out the odd shapes even in the semi-dark.
“They try hiding all hints that they didn’t build this temple,” he said after a while, a statement rather than a question.
Xelloss nodded. “This hallway is forbidden to all but a few select priests and their confidants.” He smiled, loosing his grip on Zelgadis’ arm slightly. “I think they put me here because blind priests won’t notice such things.”
Zelgadis snorted. “That’s a flawed plan in several ways. For one thing, you’re not blind.”
Xelloss just kept smiling, of course, like he always did.
“And secondly, even a blind man could notice their little subterfuge. All it’d take would be a brush of fingers against the walls.” Or use of extra senses, like Rezo had used, but Zelgadis was not bringing that up around Xelloss. No need to give the mazoku any ammunition in any way.
Still smiling, Xelloss lightly ran his fingers along the wall briefly. “Of course. Deprivation of one sense makes the other senses stronger. Some people hone their senses to a point where just a light touch can tell them volumes about everything they touch, be it a living being or a stone.”
Zelgadis decided to ignore that. Xelloss probably hadn’t meant it like it sounded. Wouldn’t be the first time he took something to mean something it didn’t and reacted to it in the wrong way. Usually, he wouldn’t care if it was the wrong meaning, he’d just act on it. However, he’d have to make an effort to remain civil while in the temple.
“If they didn’t build the temple,” he said, pointedly steering his thoughts onto another track, and hopefully Xelloss’ thoughts as well, though he had no idea how a mazoku mind worked and didn’t particularly care to know. “Then who did build it?” He didn’t want to admit any curiosity.
Xelloss touched the wall again, letting his fingers glide along a particularly intricate carving. “Mazoku did,” he replied after a while. “A very long time ago.” He gave one of those smiles that said that it was the only thing he was willing to say about the subject at the moment.
Sighing, Zelgadis looked at the floor instead. It was probably easier to talk to than Xelloss, at any rate. He had a sudden feeling that this was going to be one long task.
The mazoku suddenly stopped walking and pushed open a door you could barely see, holding it open for Zelgadis. Zelgadis found himself wondering if the stone door was as heavy as it looked or if Xelloss was playing games again. He walked through the door and into the rooms beyond, giving Xelloss a warning look.
The chamber itself wasn't very unsettling. It was old, yes, like all of the building, with the walls, the fireplace and even the bed being carved from the same dark purplish-grey stone everything around seemed to consist of. A desk and a matching chair had been added to the room, as had more blankets and pillows than anyone sane would need.
However, the owner of the chamber wasn't even remotely sane, and with the guards patrolling the hallways, he was trapped in a stone room, without windows, with a mazoku who, no matter how much he claimed not to be able to use his power, could quite likely eradicate him and phase out of there before the detectors could even notice the magic. Not that Xelloss needed to use his powers to do damage.
Slowly, Zelgadis turned to face the ever-smiling demonic priest.