That's So Wizard

Chapter 86 - Icy Hot

The door opened slowly to a silent, unsettling hall. Lucy stepped inside, followed by her two younger sisters, Kali and then Mara. She took lead, as was her way, and although they didn't hear anything, they proceeded with subtlety. The home was small and within an ordinary residential district, and although they did have the means to wipe the memory of mortals that may see them, they were on high alert for the potential owners of such an abode.

Complete and utter silence was impossible for all three of them. Kali, being a master of stealth and trickery, was more than capable, but with all of them combined, their footfalls didn't fall on deaf ears. They suddenly heard the sounds of muffled, panicked voices.

"There's people here," whispered Mara.

Lucy brought a finger to her lips, and beckoned them farther. They turned the corner to spot two humans tied to chairs, with not only their mouths gagged, but their eyes covered. There was no need for the latter, unless the culprit knew there was something they weren't meant to see. It had to be Anzu's work. She cared that much at least.

Before Lucy could speak, her sister Kali was already behind them. She inspected the two closely and saw no real injuries of note. Around the backs, their wrists were bound with rope. In their mouths, socks. And covering their eyes were shirts wrapped around and tied. It was a man and woman, looking to be about the same age.

She decided to take initiative. Kali removed the socks from both of their mouths. They spat and coughed at the lint on their tongues.

"Who's there? Please, let us go!" said the woman.

Lucy spoke up, and both began to approach. "Relax. We're not the one who put you here. Can you tell us who did? Did she have violet lips and hair?"

The woman nodded frantically. "Yeah. She looked like some kind of demon, as weird as that sounds. I was knocked out, and I don't remember much besides seeing her face, hearing her voice, and ending up here." Her voice was stuttering. Clearly she was still in some stage of shock.

"And she said she'd be here," said Kali.

"Why would she do this? Did she know we were coming?" Mara asked.

Lucy proceeded past them. She saw something, that upon realization, was quite obvious. There was a note—a paper tacked into the wall and written in exquisite cursive. She pulled it down and read it over carefully.

"Is that from her?" Mara tried to peer over at the paper as best she could.

"Yes." Lucy nodded, and spoke with hesitation. "The man wasn't lying after all. She wants to meet. In fact, she knew we'd come here, apparently. Though she'll only show if I go alone."

The man struggled in his seat. "What's goin on back there? Let us go!"

"You can't go alone... Why do we need to listen to that?" asked Mara.

Lucy stared longingly at the piece of paper. Clearly, she was lost in thought, and she continued to be for a long moment. Finally, she lowered the note, and looked to her sisters with her mind made up.

"She's still our sister. I'll meet her alone, and see her out." Her eyes turned to Kali. "Let these poor folk go once we're out of sight. Then, you'll wait for me to return. I'm going. I need to find out the truth anyway."

They both wanted to contest but they knew there was no point. Kali did as she instructed. When the couple were free, there were no devil sisters for them to see. There was nobody at all. Not long after the tree of them returned to the Demon World, Lucy set off to the destination. There was a meeting scheduled, and it seemed like Anzu has things more carefully planned than they feared, as the time was already at hand.