Just as I was imagining when I'd find the time to fall asleep by the tunnel, I heard Inego's voice from the foyer, his accent thick with impatience.

"Oi, mate, could we please hurry this along? I feel like I've aged fifty bloody years, and this foyer isn't very large, if you catch my meaning."

Murasaki giggled, a warm chime of mischief that set both mine and Inego's shoulders rigid.

"I don't mind waiting," she teased. "Plus, I rather enjoy the view. All those handsome boys asleep, just waiting for a kiss to wake them. I can practically feel them radiating energy from here."

I groaned, rubbing my temples.

"Murasaki, please, could we not?"

I turned back towards Obie, who was climbing into an ugly purple recliner that looked like it had been rescued from a landfill.

His legs barely reached the footrest, and his beard was full of crumbs from something friend and unholy.

"When are they going to wake up?" I asked. "You know, I'd like to talk to Shion."

Obie shrugged, his face a grumpy knot of disinterest.

"They'll wake up when they bloody well decide ta come out of the Nightlands. Do ya like when someone wakes ya up when yer in the middle of a pleasant dream, huh?"

He picked up an old, beat-up remote and turned the television on.

"If ya wanna wake yer friend, be my guest. I ain't gonna touch 'er."

Shion didn't move from her spot on the couch, but she looked as peaceful as I'd ever seen her.

"Last thing I need's a pissed off vampire comin' at me, all fangs and claws. Neh. No thanks," Obie muttered.

I couldn't believe that this guy was helping to pay my rent.

Which reminded me, I needed to thank him.

"I'll make sure they're up before too long, though. They gotta be awake in time for their gig at Dick's Discotheque anyways."

He took a swing of his beer, belched, and began to flip through the channels.

And then, as if the universe decided to prove the drunken dwarf right, Edin groaned and rolled on his side.

He blinked, rubbed his eyes, and sat up, yawning like he'd just napped through science class.

As he did, I saw something like the way heat waves radiate above a hot road shimmering beside of him. It began to quickly take shape. A small, ornate jewelry box appeared as though the air itself had been holding it for him.

"Well, that answers how that happens," I muttered.

Edin squinted at me, scratched his arm, and then grinned.

"Ey, I remember you."

Then he looked at the box beside him.

"I got it! Yeah, totally worth it."

Nightmage shot upright from his spot against the wall, cursing loudly.

His sunglasses were askew, and he looked furious.

"What the hell, Edin! I was about to grab that sweet-looking cloak! Do you have any idea how rare dreamspun cloth is? Damn it, man, what'd you pull out of the dream for?"

Edin looked at the flask beside him, uncorked it, and took a swig.

"Oh, my bad. I didn't know. I had wha' I wanted, and tha' was tha'."

Nightmage ranted under his breath, words I didn't need translated to know were curses.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

On the beanbag throne, Arclose stirred, groaning like someone who'd had his teeth punched in.

As he woke up, I watched his front lip suddenly spit, and thought maybe he had.

He sat up, blinked through the haze, and when he opened his hand a fistful of gems spilled into his palm, glittering faintly in the lodge's pale light.

"Ugh, that guy guarding the place was an asshat," he said. "This better have been worth it."

Then he glanced at Shion.

"Well, guys, it's all up to her to make it back."

I frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Arclose leaned back, wiping his bloody lip with his thumb.

"We found a sweet treasure trove in someone's dream. It was a nice, big one. Might've been from a dragon, even! Problem was, though, it was guarded."

Nightmage barked a laugh.

"Yeah, and the last thing you want is someone who has access to an Achillies's Gate to follow you back."

Obie sat up.

"Ye'd better not have company comin' back here," he said.

Arclose shook his head dismissively.

"Don't worry about it. Shion's a professional. Plus, it's not like she took anything enchanted with her."

Obie nodded approvingly.

"Good. Let's keep all of this on the quiet, eh?"

I looked at Shion, still unmoving on the couch.

"Is she going to be okay?" I asked.

Arclose spoke up.

"Yeah, she'll make it out better than I did."

I saw what he meant.

Since waking up, he'd not only developed a split lip, but also had bruises growing on the side of his face, neck, and along the left side of his ribs.

He saw that I was looking over his injuries, and he grinned at me.

"You ought to see the other guy," he said with a wink.

Then he shot a glance at Edin.

"Oh, and thanks for leaving me to get stomped on, damn thief."

Edin just looked at his jewelry box and cheerfully smiled.

"Eh, it builds character, don't it?"

I ignored their bickering and looked at Shion.

She reminded me of when Kanae had stunned her with cursed Kanji. Her arms lie at her side, perfectly still, with her lips slightly parted.

Her eyes didn't twitch, and her chest didn't rise whatsoever.

Now Arclose looked over too.

"Okay, she should've come to by now. She saw we were ditching the dream," he said. "Maybe she's hanging back for something?"

Edin shrugged.

"Oi, she could be gettin' greedy."

Nightmage clicked his tongue and shook his head, irritated.

"That's never a good idea. You don't want to linger in the Nightlands without a group to back you up. No amount of loot is worth your life."

I felt myself clenching my fist.

"So… do we wake her then?" I asked.

The three of them gave me the same look, like I'd just suggested tossing their stolen loot into a fresh sunbeam and watching it vanish.

"You really want to wake her up if she's not ready?" Arclose asked.

Edin laughed.

"Yeah, I'm not ready ta die."

I ignored them.

I couldn't just stand there doing nothing while Shion slept like a statue.

Carefully, I stepped forward, heart thudding, and placed my hand on her shoulder and shook her gently.

"Shion?" I said.

Her eyes snapped open like knives being unsheathed, and for one terrifying moment, I thought she was going to slash her claws across my throat.

Then, she turned her dry irises and focused on my face.

"Blondie," she croaked.

A shimmer ripped through the air across her lap.

I saw something materializing. It looked like fabric. Long, flowing, and ornate. I knew, without her needing to say anything, it was her gown.

She moved quickly, covering it and trying to tuck it beneath her before I could get a good look.

"Damn it, Blondie! What the hell are you doing here?!"

My chest tightened.

"I was worried about you," I muttered, feeling lame.

That made her pause though, for a moment, and her anger faltered.

"Gah, I don't want you to see this, got it?" she said.

I nodded, stood up, and stepped away.

"Sorry… I'm fine, though," she said, but her voice was unsteady. She had to take another breath to continue.

"Listen, I'm already dead, okay? What's the worst that could happen to me, even in the Nightlands?"

Arclose opened his mouth, and Edin leaned forward. Even Nightmage smirked.

One look from Shion froze them like kids caught stealing candy.

Then her eyes softened. She turned to me, and her voice was quiet, low, and conflicted.

"You were worried about me, and that means a lot."

She moved closer to where I was standing, and I put my hand on her shoulder.

For a moment, it was just the two of us, and everyone else in the room seemed to fade away.

"But, listen," she whispered to me, her voice was tight, like a rubber band about to snap. "I can't have you running up here at the drop of a hat trying to save me, okay?"

My throat closed, but I nodded.

"Okay."

And that was the hardest word I've ever said.

I let go of her shoulder and stepped back.

That was when I felt a dangerous tug at the center of my chest, and I didn't have to look towards the foyer to know what it was.

Murasaki.

She'd seen the gown.

And her jealousy of Shion had just spiked.

"I really think it's time to go," Inego said, stepping against the foyer like he was trying to blend in with the wallpaper.

Shion looked towards the doorway, and suddenly she locked eyes with the succubus.

I felt the temperature in the room suddenly drop ten degrees, and Yuki didn't even need to be there.

"That's right, darling. He promised he'd never leave me," Murasaki said without the smile even leaving her lips.

Shion didn't answer.

Instead, she leapt to her feet, her fangs bared and claws fully extended.

Obie sat up from his recliner.

"Finally!" he said.

He turned to Nightmage and nudged his shoulder.

"Grab me another beer from the fridge, ya damn pothead, an' be quick about it! I don't wanna miss this fight!"

Murasaki simply raised one of her eyebrows.

"Oh, what a disgusting creature you are. I can see why he prefers me."

I opened my mouth, but not a single sound came out.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.