The fire user stared at her with amusement as she gaped at him in shock. How long was he standing behind her and how much of Crux's explanation did he hear?
She never expected for him to find her after what happened in town. She thought he, the blue haired girl and the flying cat were helping the towns people. If he was here, the commotion in town was probably over. Which brought about another question. How long had she been in the cemetery?
"What are you doing here?" she asked with a child like voice. Briefly, she glanced at Capricorn to see if he could direct her what to do. Instead the goat spirit carefully watched everything. He flicked his eyes to her so that she would give the pink haired guy her full attention.
"I should be asking you the same question."
"I'm here for business of my own." Lucy straightened to her full height so she wouldn't feel intimidated by the fire wizard.
"You could say I'm here for the same reason too."
"Your business doesn't involve me."
His smirk grew wider. "That's where you're wrong. You have everything to do with my business since I discover you are the person I'm searching for."
She frowned at him. "But your job is done. I have the silver key and I'm here at Mr. Bero's burial site."
There was a moment of silence before the male before her lowered his arms to the side and moved away from the tree. "I'm quite curious about your power and the golden keys your spirit mentioned."
It was Lucy's turn to fold her arms across her ample chest. His eyes followed her movement and she could have sworn something flashed in his dark eyes. "Celestial magic is secretive magic. Only those who possess celestial magic can know it's true form."
"I understand for my magic works in the same way but your magic is targeted by unknown enemies and for this particular reason I have a right to know why."
She inhaled sharply before letting it go. "I don't know the exact reason except for what you heard from my spirit, Crux." She pointed to the old spirit who was calmly floating in the air, sitting in a genie position.
The fire wizard looked away from her to the spirit. "So whoever is hunting celestial wizards are after the golden keys?"
"Yes. And there are twelve of them. My new master has three of them. There is another one to obtain."
The spirit's words made Lucy's head snap into his direction. "What are you talking about?"
"My former master left you with the duty to seek the twelve golden keys before the demons find and destroy them. The golden keys are mankind's only hope to save the world from being devoured by darkness."
The guy's forehead crinkled. "Are you saying that demons will inhabit the earth once again?"
The elderly spirit nodded his head.
"What do you mean once again?" Lucy asked, feeling lost in the conversation.
Natsu turned onyx eyes to her and her breath caught in her throat. She forgot the intensity of his stare once he was serious. "Before humans or dragons existed, demons roamed the earth. They were forced back into hell by angels, making room for new life."
"Correct." The grandfatherly spirit beamed at fire wizard's knowledge. "But not all demons returned to hell. Some were left in the earth world and they have been looking for ways to bring back their kind to earth. Some of those ways is through reproduction. Demons mate with humans to have demon offspring. Others find items called artifacts that retains the demon's spirit."
"It's like the celestial keys," Lucy added.
"Only we are not demons," the spirit clarified with her.
Understanding dawned in her brown eyes. "I see."
"As for the other key, my lady, we need to find it," Lucy's other spirit reminded her. She jumped at hearing his voice. She had completely forgotten Capricorn's presence.
"But how?"
"I can help with that," Crux informed her. "My mission is to help you gather all your keys and to tell you useful information about them. However, I can't give you the exact locations. I can only feel their presence when I am in a certain range of their location. As for the key you are looking for, it's beneath your feet."
"What?" Lucy's mouth opened. She looked at the ground and her mouth twisted. "I don't like where this is going?"
Natsu looked down at Mr. Bero's grave. From the way his eyebrows rose, she knew he drew the same conclusion.
"The key rests with his former master," Crux replied. "Now, my lady -."
"Lucy," she interrupted. "You may call me Lucy."
The old spirit's face scrunched for a moment before he said her name, "Lu-cy, our magic is being depleted. Since you have no further need of my assistance, I shall take my leave." Then he vanished in a flash of light.
"I wonder if celestial spirits are angels...," Natsu voiced his opinion.
"Excuse me."
"Well, your magic appears to contain light."
She looked blank. "I don't think so. They have their own world and they are able to travel from their world to ours through summoners."
"The demons were able to travel from their world into ours as well," he pointed out. She couldn't argue with him.
Instead she shifted her attention to the coffin that lay beneath the lush coat of green grass. She didn't like the idea of having to go on her hands and knees to dig her way into her tutor's grave. It seemed wrong, like she was disrespecting her tutor, and she didn't want to get dirty.
"My lady, I can help you get to him," Capricorn said. Feeling relieved that she didn't have to dig the body, she left the job into capable hands. Once Capricorn dug his way to the coffin, he alerted her it was time for her to get what she was searching for. There was a sense of impending doom as she walked closer to the black coffin that laid out of the freshly dug grave. The lock was broken. All she had to do was raised the lid and search for the key. Yet the thought of seeing a dead body didn't rest easily with her. She bit her lip as she lifted her hand to the lid. Her arm hovered in the air and she swallowed the sudden fear to leap away from the coffin.
"Do you want me to do it?" the fire user's voice quietly asked from next to her. He remained silent, standing next to her while Capricorn dug and removed the coffin from the grave.
She closed her eyes and shook her head. "I can do it."
She opened her eyes. Her fingers trembled when she reached for the clasp, and her skin was cold against the cool surface of the coffin. Fear and grief build inside her when she finally raised the coffin's lid. Laying peacefully in a deep sleep with his arms splayed out across his chest, Lucy noticed how different her tutor appeared. She imagined what his final moments must have been like before he died. He had thick coarse skin. It was pale and cold. He was dressed in a black suit, which reminded her the last time she saw him dressed in a similar one was for one of her family's parties.
Her vision began to get blurry as her mouth trembled. Natsu reached out with his hands, searching the man's body for any clue of the golden key. Natsu moved one side of the jacket and Lucy saw something gleamed in the light. She extended her arms and her fingers closed over cool metal. Suddenly a warmth rushed from her fingertips to her chest. Her heart rate increased as she realized another key accepted her.
She brought the key to her chest and clutched it tightly between her fingers. From the brief inscription of the key, she recognized it as Sagittarius. All she knew was the spirit was an archer. When her magic was replenished, she would summon Crux to inform her about Sagittarius' abilities.
Natsu closed the coffin and he easily dragged the coffin and placed it in its original spot. Lucy spun around and looked at Capricorn with questioning eyes. She didn't know what to do now that she had a golden key in her possession.
"What do I do now?" she questioned her main concern to her trustworthy spirit.
He shrugged his shoulders. "We look for the other keys."
"No you don't," the fire user interjected.
She craned her neck, her gazed focused on him. "What did you say?"
"I have to take you to Fairy Tail since you're a wizard," he simply said.
"No." She shook her head. "I have to look for the other keys."
She never saw him move. With a blink of her eyes, he closed the distance between them. His face hardened as his dark eyes bore into her. Only his tone remained gentle. "I'm sorry, Lucy. I have no other choice." Then his strong arms wrapped around her, closing her in an iron grip.
Thank you for reading. We hope you are enjoying the story so far. :)