Chapter 20:
The servants of the Lord of Nightmares were in high spirits as they led the sullen group out of the inn and down the road to their quest area. Filia, Amelia and Kaze's lectures were irritating perhaps, but every thing was balanced out nicely by the sight of a hyperventilating Mizuno in the corner with her bemused fiance at her side.
When the sun had reached its peak, shining down torturously upon the backs of the group, they arrived at their destination: a wall completely covered with vines.
In other words, a dead end.
Lina's screams could be heard all the way from downtown Tokyo.
* * *
"Are you absolutely, absolutely sure-"
"Lina. One more word…"
The fiery-haired girl clamped her mouth shut immediately. Her elder sister nodded her approval, before taking a step towards the wall and running her hand across the vines. Her eyebrows knitted together in a frown as her eyes flicked to the Trickster, who seemed equally puzzled. "I take it that L-sama is humouring herself again."
"Inevitably so."
"Why don't you guys try looking at that patch of vines just below you?" Phibirizo drawled lazily.
The couple glanced down to discover that the vines at the bottom seemed to be converged together in a rather unnatural way, for vines usually grew in all directions, spreading itself out as it went. Turning back to the young thief, Luna patted his head.
"Good job. You've got sharp eyes."
"And nimble fingers," the Trickster chuckled. "Give it back, Phib."
"Tell you what. You give me the money, and I'll tell you how to get in."
Luna's face betrayed no surprise, as she nodded towards the wall silently. Smirking widely, the dark-haired boy approached the unusual patch, bent down and with a single hand, shoved the vines aside.
It revealed a hole large enough for a person to crawl through.
The group stared incredulously at Phibirizo who shrugged modestly. "I'm a thief. Finding secret hiding places comes easily to me. Particularly when the police gets involved."
* * *
Once everyone had entered, they found themselves in a dark cave, completely devoid of light.
Stepping into the darkness, Lina instinctively turned back to the others. "Be careful and stay close to each other." Her elder sister glanced over at her violet-haired partner. "Did you hear that?"
"But of course! What makes you think I didn't!" came the cheerful reply.
"A mere confirmation, Xelloss."
"You have such faith in me."
"Amazing, isn't it?" The ex-knight ignored the pout Xelloss threw at her.
Zelgadiss's sapphire eyes squinted so hard that he began rubbing his hands over them. These human eyes…unlike his old chimera ones, they were utterly useless in the dark. He found himself wishing for the powers of his freak self again. A hand squeezed his in the darkness. The dark-haired man returned the squeeze, while his fiery-haired wife smiled in response.
…before a large gapping hole uncovered itself under the girl's feet.