Servitude (Slayers, Xellos/Zelgadis)

Zelgadis tensed as the metal door at the end of the hall opened, sending a widening spear of light across the cages. He shifted, pushing back against the wall though that hardly required him to move far. His cage was too narrow to allow much movement. The demon on his left snarled and lunged at their captors. Black claws raked ineffectually at nothing. It should have waited until they came closer, not that that would have helped much. A sharp word cut the air, stinging with magic. The hair on Zelgadis’s arms stood up. The demon collapsed to the floor with a whimper. Zelgadis pitied the poor creature, but only slightly. It’d tried to bite him yesterday. He pulled his legs tighter to his chest, trying to make himself as small as possible in hopes they overlooked him.

He should have listened when Xellos said not to come here. Xellos had warned him. He’d been adamant about it, more than Zelgadis had ever heard him before, but Zelgadis hadn’t listened. He wanted to find a cure and there’d been a rumor. He’d thought Xellos had been trying to hide a cure from him.

In a way, he had. Zelgadis had gotten what he wanted. Now he wanted his demon form back.

Footsteps echoed on the stone floor. Zelgadis prayed they’d walk past, just like they always did. They didn’t. He kept his head down. He didn’t dare look up and chance making eye contact. The people here didn’t like eye contact, not from creatures they deemed inferior. Zelgadis had managed to find out a bit about their caste system before coming here, but the books hadn’t mentioned that demons were the lowest caste of all.

“He doesn’t look like much. Are you sure he’s not human?” The voice was new. There was a cultured air to it, similar to the other buyers that had been paraded through but with slightly less affectation.