The next morning, the four travelers were walking along the road towards a city they knew was just a couple days away. "Where are we headed again," Gourry asked for the 20th time. Lina sighed quietly, having given up for the moment on smacking the swordsman upside the head. "We've heard about some sort of magic artifact collection being displayed in Malfia. It's worth a look," Lina answered, taking great effort to keep her anger in check. "Who knows what might be in there, maybe even a cure finally." Zel glanced around at the others and frowned slightly. Ser had a disturbed expression on her face and seemed to be looking off into space, not paying attention to where she was going. "Seraya?" He became concerned when she didn't even acknowledge hearing him and tried again. "Seraya-san?" She blinked a couple times, apparently dragging herself out of wherever her mind was and looked at Zel, eyes still partially distracted. "Hai...?" "Is there something wrong," he asked. Ser slowed her pace then stopped all together, looking at the forests around the road they were on. "I... I keep thinking I sense something..." Zel frowned more and stopped as well, looking around. <We don't know a lot about her powers...> "What do you sense, Seraya?" She concentrated a moment, trying to get a definate feel of whatever was itching at her powers. "I... I'm not sure... but what it is, it's dark," she replied quietly. Zel drew his sword and eyed the shadows of the forest, expecting some type of attack. Lina and Gourry, at the sound of a sword being unsheathed, stopped and looked back. "Zel? What's going on?" "Seraya senses something, and I'm more than a little suspicious." Hidden from view of the travelers, a shadowy figure watched them, concerned a bit. <The girl shouldn't sense me at all, yet she did. Interesting...> Figuring it best to follow its Lord's orders and get back to report, it chanted quietly and threw the invisible curse at Lina. When the spell reached Lina, she felt dizzy a moment and closed her eyes, trying to regain her balance. The shadow smiled darkly, already her fate had been sealed. The spell it had used was an interesting one, and whoever the sorceress saw first would become her target. After taking a couple steadying breaths, Lina opened her eyes again and there was a brief flash of darkness in her eyes. "Seraya-san," she whispered to herself. Ser blinked and trembled slightly, sensing a very strong black spell being cast and brushing near her, then it was gone along with whatever it was she sensed earlier. "It... it's gone." She sighed and shook her head. "I felt a spell being cast, then... nothing." "Well, whatever it is, it's gone now. Come on, Malfia awaits!" Zel watched Lina as she walked towards him and Ser, then blinked in surprise when the sorceress wrapped an arm around the healer's waist. "What are you looking at, come on!" She started down the road again, a blushing Seraya having little choice other than walking beside the red head. Zel blinked again, then started after the girls, Gourry falling into step beside him. "That is... unusual." The swordsman looked at Zel, wondering what he meant but decided not to ask. Meanwhile, Ser was having a tough time thinking with Lina's arm around her. Add to that, Lina's fingers were lightly caressing her stomach, making the blond girl shiver slightly. <Lina-san, what are you doing...?> When she got partially used to the gentle touch, Ser took a deep breath and tried sensing anything unusual. <What is that...? It feels a little like earlier...> She couldn't concentrate enough to figure out much else.
Back to Curses and Control Index - Back to Slayers Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction