Zhara wandered the hallways of her house, unable to sleep. Between Lina’s screams and Amelia’s sobbing, all Zhara could do was pace, senses keyed unusually high: It felt like the night before the last day of the world. The last time she’d felt this much on edge had been the night before Shabranigdo had emerged from Rezo’s body. The air all around her tingled anticipation, even her city, so usually full of music and parties at this time of night, was strangely quiet, as if Marrigan, too, was waiting, just as it had done then. The feeling was stifling enough to make it hard for Zhara to breath. So she stalked her home, obsessively checking wards and locks, making sure there were no cracks in her defenses. What she was preparing for, though, she wasn’t entirely sure.
        The previous day was definitely in the running for the "Weirdest Day of Zhara’s Life" award. Url had killed Kopii Rezo, only to get the snot beat out of him by the one person who should have been most grateful: Zelgadis. If she hadn’t impressed upon Urlich the importance of leaving Zelgadis alive, Url wouldn’t have gotten his ass kicked, and Zelgadis would be dead. Url’s swords were always at their best if he could kill his opponent. Then they’d rescued the Princess of Seyruun from an eternity as a vampire. (Or was that, saved the world from an eternity of the vampire Princess of Seyruun?) Then they’d gotten Zelgadis away from Xellos, only to nearly lose Sylph in the rescue. Now Zelgadis was missing, though Jaz was pretty sure he was in Marrigan’s infamous catacombs, roughly below the spot where Lina, Gourry and Amelia had appeared in the middle of a street. Jaz knew the catacombs as well as anybody, having lived in them for the better part of nine hundred years, but Zhara worried. What if Jaz had been wrong? Or even if she’d been right, what if Zelgadis had regained consciousness and started wandering? Worse, what if someone had found him? Someone who wasn’t Jaz?
        Or, worst of all, what if Zelgadis…bloomed? What he was going through sounded like the Dark Lord equivalent of puberty, only Zel would come out of it with something a lot more impressive than a deeper voice and chest hair. From the tiny taste of Zelgadis’ new power she’d had, Zhara figured they were looking at the birth of a Dark Lord to rival the power of the Lord of Nightmares, herself. Zhara toyed very briefly with the idea of turning Zelgadis over to L-Sama. At least she’d be able to control him (hopefully) and might keep him from rampaging, since that could result in the destruction of the world all in once shot. True, the Mozuko goal in life was to destroy the world but they didn’t want that to happen all at once. Bad for business. What would they feed on if they obliterated their main food source? Each other? Huh. Zhara knew as well as any of her kind that the one left standing would be L-Sama, and she’d just build herself another world and more Mozuko to play with. Better for self-preservation to keep the present world and its inhabitants intact. But what would L-Sama do with a power like Zelgadis was becoming? Did he fit into her plans? Or would she destroy him? If she were in L-Sama’s boots, Zhara would find a way to use Zelgadis, to make him her servant who would act only on her orders; she’d find a way to keep him and his power on a tight leash. Failing that, she’d kill him to keep him from falling into the hands of lesser Dark Lords, who wouldn’t have the power to control him.
        And Zhara proposed to bring Zel and his power into her house? "I’ve lost my mind," she muttered humorlessly. Her feet had carried her to Sylph’s door for the dozenth time that night. Quietly, she pushed open the door, enough to peer in and watch her old friend’s chest rise and fall with reassuring breaths. She’d live, thanks to Urlich, Lina and Amelia. Zhara envied them their healing powers. The closest she could get to the concept of healing was "building" and "creating", as she’d done when she’d made Marrigan and its first crop of citizens just over a thousand years ago. But what she’d created, Zhara was unable to heal if it got hurt, or fix if it got broken. She had to make a new one to replace the old one. That’s why she needed Urlich so badly, because creating and building from scratch took so much energy. Urlich would tell her she should be glad not to be a healer. He couldn’t use magic to maim or destroy a living creature. If he wanted to fight or kill, he had to use the same tools mundanes used—except for his own body. Urlich’s body wouldn’t let him use it to kill without a tool, like a sword or a knife. He wasn’t even a good poisoner. Urlich referred to it as the curse he’d inherited from their dragon mother and he envied his sister’s attack spells. Zhara envied his healing spells. Now Urlich had two new people to envy in the persons of Lina Inverse and Princess Amelia of Seyruun, two magical warriors who were still effective white magic users. It had always been painful for him to be around people like them, and Zhara suspected he’d fallen asleep with angry, frustrated tears on his face. Not that he’d ever admit it, of course. Url was nothing if not proud, another aspect of his personality he’d inherited from their mother.
        Zhara gazed upon her best friend’s peaceful face and silently (and for the umteenth time) cursed Zelgadis and his stupid pride for endangering Sylph’s life. Sylph would want to know what had become of him when she awoke. Zhara just hoped Jaz would come through for her tonight, and she’d have an answer ready that was better than: "He’s missing, but I’m working on it". Zelgadis being missing would be unacceptable to Sylph, and Zhara feared they’d have to use some kind of restraining spell to keep her from going to her sister, no matter how weak Sylph might be. Hmmm…she’d never really seen a kitsune develop that kind of loyalty to someone in such a short period of time, so perhaps her fears were unfounded. And yet, Zhara remembered how she’d felt around Zelgadis when they’d met, as if she’d known him forever. She’d chalked it up to him being the cute, quiet type—the kind of guy she always went for. Now, she wondered if maybe there had been more to it than that. He was descended from the Red Priest, of that there was no doubt, and Rezo had carried a piece of Shabranigdo in him until the Dark Lord finally manifested, killing him. Not to mention Lina’s theory about Rezo making Zelgadis into a back-up copy of himself, with all his power—some, if not most, of which had come from the hidden Dark Lord. Zhara backed out of Sylph’s room and gently shut the door. They’d have a lot of questions for Sylph if Jaz was unable to bring Zelgadis back to answer them himself. Fortunately, Jaz wasn’t in the habit of failing, and now, with her sister’s near-death adding incentive to succeed, Zhara was sure Jaz would bring Zelgadis back, if she had to drag his stone carcass the entire way.
        Zhara stopped suddenly between Lina’s door and her own. She cocked her head, eyes closed, "listening". With a sharp intake of breath, her dragon’s eyes flashed open with a start. "So soon?!"

        Lucky for Jaz, she had Garroll’s supernatural strength on her side (for a fee), so dragging Zelgadis through the streets of Marrigan herself wasn’t necessary, though Jaz was beginning to have second thoughts about retaining the services of Garroll’s friends Nik and Lenzer as bodyguards. Ten minutes out of the catacombs and Jaz was just about ready to fire them—if she could be sure Garroll would still help and that Nik and Lenzer wouldn’t try to negotiate for compensation, which they’d have to come to Zhara’s to get anyway. Just as well shut up and put up with their inane, lewd comments. What was a sophisticate like Garroll doing hanging around with a couple of immature thugs like these two?
        "…oh, yeah, mighty fine ass!" Said Nik.
        "For a vampire—" Replied Lenzer.
        "Yeah, but aren’t the bloodsuckers always hot?" Nik observed, a little wistfully.
        Jaz couldn’t resist: "And they might take more interest in you, if you weren’t such a prick."
        Oh, good, thought Jaz, that shut them up. Beside her, Garroll stifled a chuckle, and Jaz smirked. Obviously, he’d either thought the same thing or had actually said it in the past. "So, Garroll," she asked him, "what’s a cultured man like you doing with a couple of morons like these?"
        Garroll gave her a mischievous smile that almost melted Jaz on the spot; gods he was gorgeous. "We just happened to be in the same place at the same time when you engaged our services," he told her, and Jaz’s stomach clenched. "We don’t ordinarily come as a set."
        "Shit."
        Everybody laughed, even Jaz. "You thought a guy like him would hang around a couple a’ jerks like us?" Lenzer hooted. "Hoo! That’s rich, sister!"
        "But we’re honored that you’d think so highly of us!" Nik mocked.
        To which Jaz replied: "Well, since the two of you are the bottom of the barrel, I guess anything I think of you would be higher than the truth!"
        Laughs all around. At least they had a sense of humor, Jaz thought, not sure if that was a good thing if the jokes they’d been making for the past fifteen minutes were any indication—"WAIT!" Jaz held out her arm to stop her companions with her. She felt something…very bad. "Someone’s coming."
        "Then maybe we should keep running?" Nik suggested as if that were obvious, then bit his tongue when he saw the look of fear on Jaz’s face. He twitched his wrists, letting his knives fall into his hands and took up a defensive posture in front of Jaz and Garroll.
        Lenzer cracked his knuckles and stood ready behind them. Garroll held Zelgadis more closely to his chest. Jaz moved in closer to him, watching the air shimmer two feet in front of Nik. "Nik, get back," she warned, "you’re too close!"
        "Closer is better," he growled and twirled his knives. As soon as whoever-it-was materialized, he was ready to gut them.
        "It might be a friendly," Garroll suggested calmly, "in which case, it would be best if you stepped back, Nik."
        Nik took all of two steps back, then stopped.
        The air stopped quivering and in the time it took for them to take a breath, he appeared.
        Jaz gasped: "Xellos!"
        Zelgadis stirred in Garroll’s arms. He turned his head and opened his uninjured eye, then found he could neither close the eye again, nor speak.
        The Trickster Priest brushed Nik aside with a flick of his hand and walked right up to Garroll, who found he was suddenly unable to move. Xellos grinned his usual, annoying grin, right in Zelgadis’ face and chirped in a voice so cheerful it was terrifying: "Hi, honey, I’m back! Did you miss me?"
        Unable to speak, Zelgadis filled his gaze with the blackest hate. How could Xellos be so alive after the beating he’d given him? It couldn’t have been more than two hours ago!
        Everyone, even Jaz, was rooted in place, held by Xellos’ magic. Xellos grinned at each of them in turn, then moved in to kiss Jaz lightly on the cheek. "Hello, luv. It’s been too long. How is your sister?"
        "Eat shit and die," was what Jaz longed to spit, but her body wouldn’t respond, so she just glared at him, hoping he’d see the sentiment in her eyes. She tried to direct her thoughts outward, to summon Urlich or Zhara but couldn’t get past the barrier of Xellos’ spell.
        Xellos replied for her like a crazy carrying on a conversation with himself, alternating between a high-pitched imitation of Jaz and his own natural voice. "I’m sorry to say, Xellos, that my sister has died as a result of injuries she sustained when a certain chimera tripped over his own feet while carrying her. Tsk-tsk! How sad, Jaz, I’m so very sorry to hear that! Please allow me to take the murdering bastard off your hands! Oh, thank you Xellos! Why, you’re very welcome, Jaz! I’m always happy to be of service to my dear children’s friends!" He took Zelgadis from Garroll’s unresisting arms, enjoying the panicked look in everyone’s eyes, especially those of his new prisoner. "You and I are going to be good friends from now on," he said to Zel in a cruel, sweet voice, then grinned up at his other prisoners. "Ta-ta!" He sang and, with no other fanfare, was gone.
        The spell broke with his departure, and the four defenders collapsed to the their knees, finding themselves suddenly out of breath. Jaz wished vampires could weep but all she could do was scream her rage and pound the pavement with impotent fists. "Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!" How could he still have magic? Zhara had said Zelgadis’ body sucked magic out of everyone around him! It had even done it to Xellos when the two had fought in the cavern! How could he put a spell on her and the others, then just make off with Zelgadis, if Zel was the magic equivalent of a vampire? Jaz thumped her fists one last time, then rose and started running for Zhara’s. This was information her boss needed now. Two blocks later, she was surprised to hear three pairs of boots running behind her. A quick glance confirmed it was Garroll, Nik and Lenzer. Probably wanted their fee, even if they’d failed to fulfill their contract. Jaz slowed enough for them to catch up to her, meaning to offer them each 50 gold pieces for having to deal with Xellos, but Garroll spoke first.
        "My new associates and I have discussed this matter and have agreed to waive our fee, having failed to fulfill our end of the bargain," he held up a velveted hand to stop her from speaking and added: "However, we would like to negotiate a new contract."
        That stopped Jaz in her tracks. "You what? To do what?"
        They stopped and ranged themselves around her. Garroll gave her an even look that sent chills down Jaz’s back. "To kill—Xellos, did he say his name was?"
        Jaz nodded, dumbfounded by what he was proposing. "He’s the servant of the Dark Lord Zellas Metallium, Beast Master. He’s out of your league, Garroll, but thanks, anyway."
        Garroll exchanged a look with Nik and Lenzer, then returned his attention to Jaz. "Very well, we’ll offer our services to your employer, then."
        Jaz blinked. "Holy gods! You guys are serious!"
        "No one puts a spell on Nik the Knife and lives to tell about it!" Nik bragged, but his eyes were less confident than his voice.
        Lenzer nodded. "He’s Zhara’s enemy, right?" Jaz just looked at him stupidly and nodded. "And he killed your sister’s kid, from what I hear."
        "How’d you hear that?" Jaz hissed. It wasn’t something any of them talked about anymore.
        The strongman grinned, showing a mouthful of teeth with more than few missing. "I’m older than you think, sister. I can’t believe Zhara hasn’t bumped her old man off for it. I hear she and your sister are like this," he crossed his fingers and held them before Jaz’ baffled eyes. He might have been implying a different kind of relationship than friendship, but Jaz let it go.
        She shook her head, thinking to try to argue with them some more, then changed her mind. Let Zhara decide. "Fine. Zhara pays better than I do, anyway. Let’s go."

        "You want me to pay you to do WHAT?!" Zhara couldn’t believe her ears. Garroll had always been the type to mind his own business, and Nik and Lezer usually knew when they were in over their heads. But to propose to her that she hire them to "eliminate" her father—"Oh, that’s rich!" She chuckled as she poured herself another drink. She’d roused the whole gang upon hearing what had happened to Zelgadis. Even Sylph was awake, sitting in a corner chair with a blanket wrapped around her, Urlich sitting attentively by her side, his eyes darting from one newcomer to the next, lingering on Nik until the Knife looked sheepishly away. Url remembered their last encounter as well as Nik did. Jaz hovered behind her sister’s chair, one hand occasionally dropping down to rub Sylph’s shoulder. Lina and Gourry slouched on the divan by the window, across from Garroll, Nik and Lenzer, who sat on side chairs that had been fished up for that purpose. Princess Amelia sat on the ottoman by Sylph’s feet. Zhara leaned against the window at Lina’ shoulder and asked: "Did it ever occur to you guys that there might be a reason Urlich and I have spared our father?"
        Garroll’s elegant mouth twisted into a cynical half-smile. "Because he’s your father, perhaps?"
        Zhara and Urlich laughed at that. "We’re demons, you idiot," Url spat, "blood ties mean nothing to us."
        Zhara’s voice was more calm. "If we kill Xellos, Beast Master will only revive him, or make herself a new one just like him," Zhara explained, then added ominously, "or more powerful. We can’t risk that. So we just screw up his plans without actually killing him. It achieves much more."
        Her new guests exchanged thoughtful looks. Garroll held up a finger and said: "Give us a moment to discuss this, if you would, please."
        Zhara rolled her eyes and snorted. "Sure. Why the hell not. It’s my fuckin’ social hour!" She bowed mockingly at Garroll. "May I get you some more wine, good sirs? Or perhaps a little snack?"
        "Zhara…" Sylph scolded. Her soft, weak voice quieted everybody in the room in an instant.
        Zhara hung her head, ashamed of herself for losing control. "I’m sorry. It’s been a very difficult day. You talk, I’ll drink." When the men made no move to do so, she waved her hand at them: "Go on. Talk. Make a decision. Time’s a-wastin’, lads."
        Still, they didn’t talk to each other, finally realizing in whose presence they were. Zhara hadn’t just made their city, she’d made its first residents. And it was Zhara who saw to it that they always had food and drink and…amusements. She protected them from outsiders if it was within her power, and to Garroll’s knowledge, this was the first time she’d failed to keep an enemy from having his way in Marrigan. Here they thought she’d just fall all over herself with gratitude that they would accept her gold to help her retrieve her friend from the most powerful servant of the Dark Lord Beast Master. The men suddenly found the tips of their boots extremely fascinating. After a few moments, Garroll spoke, his soft tenor lingering in the air like sweet incense. "Forgive us, Lady. We forgot where we were and who we were talking to. We’ll go now, if that’s what you want."
        "So, you’re just gonna back out on us, is that it?" Lina barked. Images from her dream about Zelgadis the bloodthirsty, rampaging Dark Lord still danced in her head. The nerve of these guys, offering to help them fight Xellos, then chickening out when Zhara got cranky at them. "You big cowards! What are you afraid of? That you might get your pretty outfits dirty? Huh?! Answer me!"
        Gourry had to hold her down to keep her from wailing on the strangers. "Lina, calm down! Beating them up isn’t gonna help!"
        Lina snarled at him but relaxed under his hands all the same. "Well? Are you guys in, or what?"
        From the corner came low, sinister laughter, and all eyes darted to Urlich, who found something in the situation supremely amusing. "I fought him once," he explained, pointing at Nik, who ducked his head and looked away. "He challenged me, thinking he could beat me and win the Dragon Blade."
        Gourry interrupted: "Dragon Blade? I’ve never heard of it. Is it a sword?"
        Urlich shook his head. "It’s a dagger made from a dragon’s claw, hence the name. It’s tougher and sharper than any steel, just dripping with gold and precious jewels—diamonds, mostly. Nik, here, actually thought I’d take his challenge and if I didn’t, that I’d just let him go. I stuck him with his own knives—like sticking pins in a cushion." He slouched in his seat and grinned at the much-cowed Nik wickedly. "Even if we needed help—"
        "Which we do, Url," Zhara interjected before her brother could indulge in one of his usual idle boasts. When he glared at her, she set her jaw and reiterated: "Yes, we do. Zellas obviously found a way around Zelgadis’ magic sucking ability, so we’ll have to face Dad at full strength. I’m not stupid enough to think I can take Zelgadis back from Beast Master with just you, you," she swept her hand to take in Lina, Gourry and Amelia, "Jaz and—maybe—Sylph in another day or two."
        "But we don’t have another day or two!" Amelia protested. "Zelgadis is obviously too weak right now to fight off anything Beast Master or Xellos might do to him! Can you imagine what would happen if Zel did become a Dark Lord and served Beast Master? He’d take orders from Xellos!"
        Lina chewed her lip thoughtfully. "No, he wouldn’t, Amelia. He’d kill them."
        "Huh?!" All but Gourry protested. Lina told them about her nightmare, not leaving out a single gory detail. Amelia turned and sobbed into Sylph’s blanket. The others, even Jaz, turned several shades paler. Zhara found she really needed to sit down and have a taller drink. Lenzer decided a cigarette would be a good idea and passed them on to his buddies, offering his match to each in turn.
        Sylph bent to stroke Amelia’s hair as she thought about Lina’s dream, one the sorceress had had twice in the same night, a dream as vivid as waking reality. That sounded too much like a vision of truth to Sylph, who’d had her share of them. "A vision is a warning," she told the others, her fox eyes meeting Lina’s with a hard stare, making sure the young sorceress paid careful attention. "It’s something that has a high probability of happening if action to change the variables isn’t taken by the one who’s been given the vision." She took in all of them with her steady gaze. "We’re the variables. We can change the outcome of this situation from one of world devastation, to one of peace." Then she shrugged and gave them an embarrassed look. "I don’t know how we’ll change it but I don’t think sitting her cussing out three men who’ve offered us their services is the way to do it."
        "But do they understand what they’re letting themselves in for?" Jaz asked. "We are talking about a real Dark Lord, one of the big ones."
        All eyes turned to the newcomers again, but this time the men met their eyes. "If this Zelgadis guy is gonna turn out like he does in your dream," Lenzer said to Lina, "then somebody’s gotta stop it from happening, right?"
        "And since we know what’s up," Nik added, "we can’t just go back home and ignore it."
        Garroll nodded. "Quite right. We have to fight, if for no other reason than to keep Zhara’s head from being taken," he smiled and shrugged, "no Zhara, no Marrigan—no Marrigan, no us. Or am I wrong about that, Lady?"
        Zhara couldn’t meet his eyes. Instead, she stared into the depths of her drink, the red wine reminding her of the blood she’d had to shed to create this town and its first inhabitants—her own blood. Yes, he was right: Without her, Marrigan would fade to dust and so would its people.
        Garroll rightly took her reaction as agreement. "I see. Well, then, it seems it would be in our best interest to at least protect you, Lady."
        "I don’t need protecting," Zhara retorted under her breath as she took another sip of her drink.
        Urlich laughed. "Like hell!"
        Zhara glared at him but said nothing.
        "So, you’ll help us, then?" Gourry asked, leaning eagerly forward, his eyes sparkling with the light they got just before he went into battle. Action! That was his way of dealing with things. No more of this talking and wasting time, no sir!
        The three men looked at each other and nodded. "Alright," said Garroll, "we’re in."
        Zhara set her glass on the windowsill as she said: "Fine. Jaz promised you two hundred gold pieces each for bringing Zelgadis to my house. I’ll double it if you succeed. Fair enough?"
        They nodded. "More than fair," Garroll spoke for all of them. "What’s the plan?"

        The Lord of Nightmares stroked the tiny head of the firedrake who’d located Zelgadis for her. She took a drag off her cigarette and gazed thoughtfully into a large crystal ball that hovered near her throne, sitting in on the meeting in Zhara’s house, though none of the other participants knew it. She’d seen Xellos take Zelgadis and disappear and had watched him deliver his prize to his master and receive high praise from that loony Zellas Metallium. Now there was a perfect couple, if ever L-Sama had seen one: Xellos and Zellas were about as loopy as Dark Lords came; even funnier was how much they seemed to think alike, each able to predict the other. Crazy but effective, were the Metalliums. But even combined, they didn’t have the sort of power that would be needed to bring Zelgadis to heel when his power fully manifested itself.
        She waved her hand over the crystal, shifting the scene from Zhara’s house back to Zellas Metallium’s lair. Ah. Good. The batty little freak at least had the sense to keep a restraining spell on her prisoner. "But how long will it hold, I wonder?" L-Sama mused. Zelgadis appeared immobilized, but even from a distance the Lord of Nightmares could sense him fighting the spell. And as he fought, his rage built, and as his rage built, so did the dark power within him. Soon, he’d be beyond his captor’s ability to restrain him. L-Sama knew she’d have to claim him before that happened, or there’d be nothing for it but to kill him; he’d be beyond even her control.
        L-Sama crushed out her cigarette and rose from her throne, the crystal ball floating out of her way of its own accord. The firedrake chirped and fluttered from the throne to perch on her shoulder as the Lord of Nightmares went to her workroom to prepare the spells she’d need to control Zelgadis once she’d taken him from the Metalliums. They wouldn’t be happy about it, but no one argued with the Lord of Nightmares. What L-Sama wanted, L-Sama got. Period. She’d make sure this time was no exception.