Frozen in Time || Gruvia Fanfiction ✓

Chapter 7

~~~ Gray ~~~  

"We came looking for a Fairy."

  The wizards went silent.  No one moved, and Gray simply stared at the man.  Finally it was Erza who broke the silence.

  Pressing the tip of the sword's blade against Kano's throat she demanded fiercely," Who is it you are looking for?  Which Fairy Tail wizard are you after?  Speak!"

  The enraged Mage glared down at the hostage, her grip tightening on the hilt of her weapon.  After a few moments, Kano started to laugh wickedly.  Gray took a step closer to him.

  "You asked for answers, and answers I gave you.  This has been fun, Titania Erza, but I think it's time I take my leave."

  "Wait!  We aren't done with you yet!" Gray yelled and lunged forward just as the dark wizard disappeared from under Erza's sword.  He caught himself before he could tumble to the ground.  Gray was about to punch the earth in frustration when something caught his eye.

  A small shard of stone was lying in the dirt where Kano had just disappeared.  One by one, the others noticed it too.

  "What is that?" Lucy asked nervously and took a step back.

  Gray cautiously leaned over and picked the jagged fragment up.  The piece was pretty big, barely fitting in Gray's palm, and using both hands to turn it over he noticed part of a depiction.  The picture was worn and faded, and the image was cut off part way through.  The only figures that Gray could clearly make out were a dagger on the ground of the image and chains holding a person's limp body to a wall.  Above the person's head was a small tree enclosed in a sphere.  The sight made shivers run down Gray's spine.

  "This concerns me," Erza said, crossing her arms over her chest as the sword in her hand disappeared.

  Natsu nodded.  "We've been targeted by dark guilds before, but I've never even heard of Eidolon Wraith."

  Wendy nodded as well, keeping Carla close to her.  "I haven't heard of them either, maybe they're a minor dark guild?"

  No one replied as the feeling of uneasiness grew.  Gray didn't take his eyes off the ancient-looking shard in his hand.  He could feel the dark magic emanating from it.

  "We should bring that to Levy."

  Gray looked up and made eye contact with Lucy, the one who suggested the idea.

  "If anyone can find something on that thing it's definitely her!" Happy agreed cheerfully.

  Gray gazed back down at the mysterious piece before carefully pocketing it in his coat.  "We better get going then."

  Everyone was about to set off back down the road when Erza stopped them abruptly.

  "We are going around that village.  If my hunch is correct, then that old man we spoke to before posted the job request to lure Fairy Tail wizards to the ambush point in hopes the one that Eidolon Wraith was looking for would come.  It would explain his quick appearance and disappearance.  I don't want to risk us entering another hostile area."

  No one disagreed and, with the strange shard in tow, the Mages headed back to the Fairy Tail guild with a sense of urgency.

~~~~~~

  The guild hall was pretty much empty by the time Gray and his friends arrived later that evening.  There were still a few drinkers at the tables, and Kinana was now behind the bar cleaning up for the night.  Mira was sweeping the floor nearby, and when she looked up and spotted the approaching group, she smiled.